Amazon.com Inc. has slashed the amount of money it spends on Google advertising in recent days, a potential blow to the search giant’s revenue at an already-unstable time.
The e-commerce company generally buys Google ads to funnel web shoppers to its online store. But since March 11, Amazon has cut back drastically across nearly all categories, according to data collected by Tinuiti Inc., a marketing agency that handles about $1.5 billion a year in spending for various advertisers.
“Amazon has significantly pulled back in Google Shopping and text ads,” said Andy Taylor, Tinuiti’s director of research. In Google keyword auctions, Amazon is still bidding “lightly” against some advertisers, but it has “disappeared as a competitor altogether for others,” he added.
“While we don’t comment on individual customers, it’s not unusual for advertisers to adjust their campaigns at any time for any number of reasons,” a Google spokesperson said. An Amazon spokesperson did not return a request for comment.
