We’re now more than halfway through the third quarter, and Q3 is shaping up nicely for many Amazon advertisers. This is largely due to the surge in consumer demand generated by Prime Day in July, but advertising growth has been strong so far even removing Amazon’s key sales event.
Here we’ll present numbers based on same-store growth across a sample of the more than $400 million in Amazon advertising spend under management annually at Tinuiti.
Amazon Sponsored Products Spend Up 33% in Q3 So Far
Looking at the first half of Q3, brands increased investment in Amazon Sponsored Products 33% year over year, with an 8% jump in cost per click (CPC) and 24% growth in clicks. Even removing July 12 and 13 (Prime Day) from the data, Sponsored Products spend is still up 21% compared to last Q3, as click growth has surged relative to previous quarters.
CPC growth for the third quarter currently stands at 8% for Sponsored Products, the same as Q2, but this number is also impacted by the timing of Prime Day. Removing Prime Day from the numbers, Sponsored Products advertisers are seeing CPC growth of 4% in Q3, just half the rate that was observed in Q2.
Sales Continue to Grow in Line with Spend for Many Advertisers
While many advertisers saw year-over-year declines in return on ad spend (ROAS) throughout 2021, the first half of 2022 showed steadier performance. Q3 is following a similar trend for Tinuiti advertisers so far, with sales attributed to Sponsored Products up 32% year over year, very similar to the 33% increase in spend. Highly competitive ad auctions continue to keep average CPC elevated, but the value of ad clicks continues to grow in line with the cost for many advertisers.
The next few weeks will obviously be important in determining how much advertising grows year over year in Q3, but the early numbers are promising for many brands. Stay tuned to the Tinuiti blog and our quarterly benchmark reports to stay on top of the latest advertising trends across Amazon, Google, Facebook and more.