Amazon advertising trends in 2020

It is the end of Q2 of 2020 and some trends in the digital advertising world have already kicked in. Since this e-commerce platform is rising to be the brightest star in this world, we did a short overview of the current Amazon advertising trends in 2020 and also the upcoming ones. 

Which Amazon advertising trends have we seen until now?

Since the release of Amazon's advertising platform in 2012, there have been lots of innovations and new features. In 2020, we can see more changes than ever. People tend to buy everything online these days and Amazon is trying to keep up with customers and sellers who advertise to give them the best possible experience on the platform. So which changes have we seen until now?

Switch to Amazon Ad Console 

As you already know, there is a difference between Amazon sellers and vendors. Sellers advertise their products through Seller Central and the vendors through Amazon Ad Console. That was until Amazon decided to bring them all together on one advertising platform – Ad Console.  

There are still two access portals for first and third party sellers but the platform will be the same for both with slight changes in navigation menu and different functionalities. This is only the beginning of transition, in the future we expect to see lots of novelties considering this merge. 

More innovative ad features

Everyday we hear how Amazon introduces new features for its ads. This is also the case this year, as big changes have kicked in giving advertisers new options to promote brands. 

You have wider possibilities to edit creative for Sponsored Brand Ads and Amazon is automatically translating your ad text into the language of targeted market. Also, you can create video ads which contain one product and target your potential customers with relevant keywords. 

Sponsored Display Ads have got their own changes too. Before, you didn’t have the control or possibilities for specific targeting. Now, there are a wide range of targeting options based on products, interests, views and purchases. Not every seller has these options, but we expect to see more of them in the future and they should be available for everyone.

Which Amazon advertising trends are we going to see?

In the ever evolving Amazon marketplace, we can predict lots of changes this year. Starting with breakthroughs of video ads to higher cost per click and the massive rise of brands. One thing is sure, it won’t be boring. Here are some trends that we can expect to reign by the end of 2020.

Higher cost per click 

The average CPC on Amazon is $0.97, but this is about to change in the future. Why? Every day we see new sellers who advertise on the platform so this means fierce competition for ad spots and obviously higher cost per click. 

Amazon as a huge e-commerce platform which considers itself customer centric, is now overwhelmed with ads. Customers have noticed the growing number of sponsored ads while searching. This bothers them because they don’t always seem to find what they are looking for. The solution for this is definitely not good for advertisers because Amazon can’t allow more sponsored ads in search pages than it has now. The main focus of those who advertise should be great ad creative and smart bidding for relevant keywords. 

The rise of video ads

Video marketing is a great tool for every brand that wants to stand out on Amazon. Recent survey shows that 68% prefer video ads since they can show them real benefits of using a product. 

Amazon video ads are showing on desktop and mobile, below the other search results. They should last between 6 and 45 seconds, contain audio and not contain Amazon branding elements of product ratings in order to be approved on this platform. Until now, these ads have shown great potential for conversion and can bring more sales to brands who use them. 

Brand building potential

Amazon started out as a channel with the main goal of spreading the network of retailers who sell their products online. Now, this platform offers a wide range of possibilities for brands who want to be discovered and have their products labelled as best selling.

You can start from scratch, be some unknown retailer with quality products and become one of the most famous ones on the platform. How? Well, obviously by advertising, but still it’s important that you have a strategy that makes your brand stand out. If you advertise and have a clear strategy, Amazon will help you get to the top and become one of the best selling brands. In the future, we can see Amazon’s brand building potential grow while it still serves as a sales channel for a huge number of sellers.

To sum it up

Only last year, this e-commerce platform made almost $10 billion in ad revenues. The reason for this enormous growth is the higher percentage of online shoppers as almost 200 million people visit Amazon every month. Logically, retailers see this as their chance to get more revenue so they invest more and more money in advertising. 

As more sellers join the Amazon community, it is adding new features and innovations to keep up. This results in different ad formats, functionalities and other changes which are necessary to satisfy the needs of both sellers and consumers. 

Having this in mind, there is a huge chance that Amazon will overtake advertising giants like Google and Facebook in the future. Until that happens, we will see more and more changes as Amazon slowly transforms to the leading advertising platform. 

If you liked the article “Amazon advertising trends in 2020”, read about how coronavirus affected the Amazon marketplace and made a massive impact on e-commerce business.

About the author

Emilija Kovačević is a Content Writer and Social Media Manager at Sellers Alley. She has been involved with Amazon PPC for a year now. Before, she was working on content and social media strategies for different clients in the FMCG industry.