In the first quarter of 2023, Amazon’s revenue rose 9% year-over-year to $127.4 billion, significantly outpacing Meta’s $28.6 billion and Google’s $69.8 billion. The real standout was advertising: Amazon Ads grew 23% to $9.51 billion, beating both YouTube’s $6.69 billion and Google’s display ad network at $7.5 billion.
This surge has played a key role in reducing Google and Meta’s combined share of the U.S. digital advertising market to below 50% for the first time in years, according to eMarketer. Amazon, by contrast, now commands over 11% of all U.S. digital ad spending, and its influence continues to expand as brands seek performance-driven alternatives to social media platforms and search engines.
Amazon’s advertising strategy has evolved well beyond promoting products within its marketplace. It now places ads across third-party websites, live sports streams, and video content, supported by sophisticated AI and machine learning that target consumers with increasingly precise relevance.
Sources of information: emarketer.com; marketplacepulse.com; marketingdive.com