In an effort to close the loop, brands are increasing their media spend with e-commerce sites by as much as 40% according to new research.

A digital advertising benchmark report by SaaS adspend management firm Marin Software aggregates adspend trends from across its customer base, with spend covering paid search, social, mobile and e-commerce.

One notable trend has been the growth in prominence of the e-commerce ad. Just over two thirds (37%) of total search spend now goes on shopping ads, with the Google Shopping platform a key channel for retailers.

E-commerce ad spend grew by 40% in Q2 2019, with Amazon leading the charge, especially with its Sponsored Brands feature that allows brands to promote multiple products within an ad on the site and target by keyword. These showed a 13% growth from last quarter in terms of sales and impressions, leading to a 17% rise in cost-per-click rates.

"It will also come as no surprise that eCommerce continues to grow,” said Wesley MacLaggan, SVP of marketing at Marin Software in comments to the Drum. “As the lines between search, social and e-commerce continue to blur, marketers embrace the freedom to try new ad formats, while also relying on tried-and-true platforms”.

This trend is born out across a broad swath of data sources that show that Amazon’s ad revenue is growing apace – but so is that of the e-commerce scene.



Some commentators believe it can challenge the so-called ‘duopoly’ of Facebook and Google, which currently hoovers up one in every four ad dollars. CPG businesses such as Procter & Gamble and Unilever have diverted a growing proportion of trade marketing budgets to this form of advertising. In response to this trend, the US retailers Walmart, Kroger, and Target have begun to explore using their troves of customer data to build a business, as a WARC trend report details.

Sourced from Marin Software, The Drum, WARC