?? Why Amazon is Directing Shoppers... Elsewhere

TODAY'S INSIGHTS

??? Amazon Expands Listings

??? Netflix Eyes Podcasts

?? TikTok Shop Surges

?? Reddit’s AI Search

?? Apple Maps Ads

?? Get this weekly update → your inbox here

A x1 weekly newsletter for Marketers with busy calendars

FEATURE

Amazon is starting to list items Amazon doesn’t sell

A new sales avenue for brands?

Amazon is including select products from brands that are not available for purchase on Amazon. Instead, Amazon will send shoppers to the merchants’ websites to buy the products there.

• One of Amazon’s goals is to be the go-to destination for product discovery. EMarketer previously referenced a study that suggested that 53% of people began product searches at Amazon when planning to make a digital purchase.
• Aside from aiming to take more market share from traditional search engines like Google, Amazon presumably will take a commission on sales they direct to the merchants — although this was not confirmed in the official Amazon release.
• Amazon says it plans to expand the feature to more users and incorporate more brands based on feedback from the beta test.

Read more

MOST READ

??? Netflix explores video podcasting

The company is considering exclusive deals to attract podcasters. With video podcasts surging in popularity—YouTube alone logged 400 million hours watched on TV in 2024—Netflix sees a chance to expand its range of content.

?? TikTok Shop tops Shein and Temu in U.S. sales growth

TikTok Shop saw a 153% sales jump in January, far outpacing Shein’s 26% and Temu’s 28% growth, per Bloomberg. The platform is gaining market share, particularly from Shein, with a notable rise in transactions over $25—an area where Shein initially gained traction.

?? Reddit plans to launch enhanced search experience in 2025

The platform will integrate its AI-powered tool, Reddit Answers, into its search experience. Reddit Answers will summarize responses from multiple discussions instead of just listing threads when users search.

MORE HEADLINES

?? Apple explores monetizing Maps app with search ads

Apple is exploring the addition of search ads to its Maps app, similar to Google Maps. The platform is considering charging for placement in search results and prioritizing business locations by making them more prominent on the map.

?? Google Ads adds Performance Max ‘Usefulness Indicator’

The new tool lets advertisers gauge how well their search themes drive incremental traffic. The Usefulness Indicator shows if the selected keywords bring in new visitors or overlap with existing signals.

?? Google Ads to auto-shorten video ads for Demand Gen campaigns

Advertisers are in the process of being notified that Google will automatically create shorter versions of their content. The feature is enabled by default and advertisers have until March 10, 2025, to opt-out.

?? Roku’s ad business outpaces platform revenue growth in Q4 2024

Roku’s ads outperformed both the U.S. ad market and the OTT ad sector. The platform segment, which includes ads, content sales, and subscriptions, hit $1.035 billion for the quarter. Roku credits stronger programmatic partnerships and expanded home screen ad formats for the growth.

?? Amazon Prime Video expands its focus on live sports to boost ad revenue

Prime Video is extending its sports lineup with NBA and NASCAR deals, strengthening its year-round coverage. The platform will also bring brand ads to its new NBA studio show.

You’re caught up ??