When The Commerce Desk’s CEO Jeff Inexperienced waved off Amazon as a menace, he wasn’t solely mistaken. However he wasn’t solely proper, both.
On final week’s earnings name, he informed analysts the retail big is “not a competitor”, arguing it’s “exhausting for “for them to purchase throughout the open Web in a really goal means”.
It’s a good declare — for now. Amazon’s advert enterprise is rising quick, nevertheless it hasn’t but come at The Commerce Desk’s expense.
A number of advert consumers informed Digday as a lot.
One, at an impartial company, stated they haven’t spent a greenback on Amazon.
Others solely go there for what The Commerce Desk can’t ship: Amazon’s unique CTV stock, its first-party commerce information, or its closed-loop attribution. And after they do, it’s largely additive spend — take a look at budgets, retail media allocations — not cash pulled from open internet campaigns.
That leaves The Commerce Desk in a cushty spot. It might not have Amazon’s flywheel of knowledge, content material and scale nevertheless it does have the independence and cross-platform capabilities that hold advertisers coming again.
Amazon features, however not at TTD’s expense
At Rain the Development Company, spend on The Commerce Desk is up 25% this 12 months; on Amazon, it’s flat. Till it turns into the default alternative for purchasing adverts outdoors the walled gardens, the stability holds.
“In lots of circumstances, we’re allotted a basic programmatic price range, and we could shift a portion of that ‘X%’ to Amazon based mostly on efficiency and technique,” stated Kendra Tang, programmatic supervisor at Rain the Development Company. “That would not directly affect [The Trade Desk] TTD. Nonetheless, some shoppers present a devoted Amazon price range upfront, whereas others look to us for a suggestion.”
Both means, Amazon’s budgets are nonetheless smaller — seven figures — in comparison with the eight figures flowing by The Commerce Desk.
Associated Insights
New Engen had the same viewpoint. Advertisers there common eight-figure budgets on The Commerce Desk; Amazon’s are available nearer to 6. The expansion hole over the previous 12 months tells the same story.
To date in 2025, spending on The Commerce Desk is double what New Engen spent this time final 12 months, stated Katie Johnson, senior programmatic director at New Engen. Amazon, then again, has been “steady” (learn flat), although she does count on that to rise within the latter a part of the 12 months.
“The Commerce Desk continues to steer Amazon in cross-device and superior reporting capabilities, permitting entrepreneurs to grasp a client’s path-to-conversion, even throughout search and social channels,” stated Johnson.
“All these cross-channel insights are necessary for omnichannel entrepreneurs navigating an evolving funnel.”
At Collective Measures, the numbers look totally different however inform the identical story. The Commerce Desk’s spend is pacing down this 12 months, although not due to Amazon. Purchasers are leaning into lower-funnel ways like paid search. Amazon spending is down 30% over the identical interval, pressured by tariffs — a dip that would rebound earlier than the 12 months’s finish.
Granted, the examples are small, however they align with a pattern that’s been constructing over the previous 12 months: Amazon is trying like a menace to The Commerce Desk, simply not a direct one.
Amazon’s rising providing
Amazon stays a good distance from matching The Commerce Desk, however its momentum is constructing. This 12 months, it rolled out AI-powered marketing campaign instruments and struck new CTV partnerships, all geared toward making it simpler for advertisers to faucet into and scale throughout its advert stock.
Associated Insights
“Amazon is rising notably [regarding spending] shortly as a result of the Amazon DSP and information is so sturdy at driving promoting outcomes, that it’s trying outdoors of its owned and operated publishing belongings to increase the affect of its campaigns into third-party apps and web sites,” stated Stephen Upstone, CEO & founding father of advert tech vendor LoopMe.
The extra Amazon does this, and pushes off-site, the sooner it features on The Commerce Desk. Positive, advertisers have lengthy been in a position to make use of Amazon’s information to focus on individuals elsewhere, however efficiency outdoors its personal partitions rated matched-on platform outcomes. Closing that hole would strengthen the case for funneling extra advert {dollars} by its advert tech — and in doing so flip extra away from The Commerce Desk.
“The sport being performed are audiences, information, media codecs, and stock,” stated Shattuck Groome, chief media officer at impartial media company Mile Marker. “As a media company we have now to make selections on behalf of shoppers which additionally consists of social platforms, influencers, and Google. As these walled backyard platforms develop and a few entry turns into restricted to TTD, a media planner and purchaser will inevitably purchase stock outdoors of TTD.”
That is why Inexperienced was additionally mistaken about Amazon. Whereas he can accuse walled gardens of marking their very own homework, detractors may argue that end-to-end ecosystems guarantee higher effectivity, information management, and entry to premium stock, aligning with every platform’s ecosystem.
Amazon DSP could also be a way off from the primary spot, however it is extremely critical about taking up its broadly perceived quantity two participant, The Commerce Desk. Aggressive CTV reductions had been solely the opening transfer. The larger play is positioning itself because the go-to platform for all programmatic buys, not simply CTV.
Digiday has contacted The Commerce Desk and Amazon for remark and can replace this text in the event that they reply.
