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E-commerce inside the world’s largest online marketplace feels different in 2026. Not louder. Not flashier. Just more precise.
On the surface, things look familiar. You have product listings, reviews, sponsored placements and deals. But underneath all that, advertising has turned into a deeply data-driven system. Decisions are no longer based on broad assumptions or aggressive bidding alone. They’re guided by behavior and patterns. Purchase history.
More than 74% of U.S. shoppers now begin their product searches on this platform, according to eMarketer. That single stat explains a lot. When most buying journeys start in one place, advertising inside that ecosystem becomes incredibly powerful. At the same time, retail media is projected to account for nearly 20% of total U.S. digital ad spend. Budgets are clearly shifting.
This is no longer just a marketplace. It has become one of the most important advertising engines in e-commerce.
And data is driving it.
A few years back, many brands followed a fairly predictable playbook. Optimize listings, run Sponsored Products, bid hard on high-intent keywords and track ACoS daily.
That approach still works to a degree. Sponsored ads remain a strong conversion tool. But the environment is more competitive now. Cost-per-click rates have climbed across crowded categories. More sellers are fighting for the same search terms.
The company’s advertising division has grown at over 20% year over year in recent periods. Growth at that pace attracts serious competition. More brands enter and more money flows in. Pressure builds.
When everyone targets the same keywords, efficiency drops, margins get squeezed. That is when strategy has to evolve.
So advertisers started looking past search terms. They began focusing on the shopper behind the query. What else does this person browse? How often do they buy in this category? Do they come back every month?
That shift, from product-centric to audience-centric thinking, is reshaping marketplace advertising in 2026.
Keyword targeting captures existing demand. Someone searches for a product. Ads compete to show up.
It’s useful. It’s necessary. But limited. Because shoppers don’t think in keywords. They think in terms of needs, habits and interests. They scroll. They compare. They abandon carts. Sometimes they return days later and buy something slightly different.
This platform has access to detailed first-party retail data. That data connects ad exposure directly to actual transactions inside the same ecosystem. Few advertising platforms can link visibility to real purchase data this cleanly.
Personalization has become a real advantage. Around 80% of consumers say they are more likely to buy from brands that offer personalized experiences. In practical terms, that means segmenting customers based on value and behavior rather than treating all traffic the same.
High-frequency buyers might receive different messaging than first-time visitors. Shoppers who viewed a product but didn’t purchase can be retargeted strategically. Loyal customers can be nudged toward complementary items.
That level of segmentation changes campaign structure. It changes how budgets are distributed. It even changes creative decisions.
There is a lot happening behind the scenes.
Machine learning models adjust bids in real time based on the probability of conversion. The budget automatically shifts toward campaigns delivering stronger performance. Predictive analytics estimate demand spikes before seasonal surges hit.
This matters because the volume of data is enormous. Manual optimization simply cannot keep up, especially in competitive categories where performance fluctuates daily.
Predictive tools analyze historical sales patterns, seasonal trends, and broader signals to anticipate future demand. That insight helps brands align inventory planning with advertising intensity. Running aggressive campaigns without stock to support them is a costly mistake. Data reduces that risk.
None of this feels dramatic while it is happening. There is no visible switch flipping. But over time, efficiency improves and wasted impressions decline. Return stabilizes.
Modern marketplace advertising strategies lean heavily on these systems.
Sponsored Products remain effective for capturing high-intent shoppers. They sit directly in search results and convert well. But relying only on bottom-of-funnel traffic limits growth.
If every brand competes exclusively for shoppers who are already searching, competition intensifies. Costs rise. Incremental growth becomes harder. Creating demand earlier in the buying journey matters more now.
That is where display, video, and audience-based campaigns enter the mix. Instead of waiting for a shopper to search, brands can reach them based on behavior and interest patterns.
One of the most important tools supporting this approach is Amazon DSP service. Unlike traditional sponsored placements, it allows advertisers to buy programmatic display and video inventory using the platform’s retail data. Campaigns can reach users both on and off the marketplace.
For example, a brand can retarget shoppers who viewed a product but left without purchasing. It can also build lookalike audiences based on previous buyers. That expands reach while staying rooted in actual shopping behavior.
Because these campaigns involve layered audience segmentation and cross-channel measurement, many brands work with an experienced Amazon DSP agency. Managing programmatic media requires careful audience structuring, frequency control, and incrementality analysis, and a knowledgeable agency can align DSP campaigns with sponsored ads so messaging stays consistent and budgets complement each other.
When integrated properly, DSP strengthens the entire funnel. Awareness at the top, consideration in the middle and conversions at the bottom.
Retail media networks are expanding quickly across the industry. Large retailers have launched their own advertising platforms, aiming to capture a share of digital ad budgets.
Still, this marketplace remains dominant. Industry estimates suggest it controls more than one-third of the U.S. retail media ad market. The reason comes down to data depth, search behavior, purchase records and repeat frequency. All connected within a closed system.
Advertisers can track how impressions lead to actual sales inside the same ecosystem. That clarity builds trust in performance metrics.
As retail media approaches 20% of total digital ad spend in the U.S., competition among platforms will intensify. Yet the advantage of closed-loop attribution remains significant. Brands looking for measurable ROI continue allocating larger portions of their budgets here.
For a long time, performance conversations revolved around ACoS and ROAS. Those metrics still matter. But they only capture part of the picture.
Customer lifetime value is becoming a bigger focus. Acquiring a new customer at a higher cost can still make sense if that shopper returns repeatedly. New-to-brand metrics help advertisers understand whether campaigns are expanding their customer base.
Incrementality testing is also gaining traction. Instead of assuming every attributed sale was driven by advertising, brands test whether sales truly increase when campaigns run. That leads to more accurate budget decisions.
These shifts reflect a maturing approach. Advertising is no longer just about immediate efficiency. It is about sustainable growth supported by reliable data.
E-commerce inside this ecosystem now runs on behavioral signals. Every click feeds a model. Every purchase strengthens targeting logic. Every campaign generates insights that influence the next round of decisions.
The brands seeing the strongest results connect sponsored placements with audience targeting. They use tools like Amazon DSP to broaden reach strategically, and measure long-term value rather than obsessing over short-term fluctuations.
Competition will keep rising, costs will shift and new features will roll out. Data-driven advertising is firmly embedded in how this marketplace operates in 2026. For brands willing to analyze performance deeply and execute thoughtfully, the opportunity remains substantial.
The storefront may look familiar, but what powers it has changed entirely.
