Amazon’s Exit From Google Shopping Ads Creates Rare Openings for Rivals

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Amazon pulls out of Google Shopping ads, cutting CPCs and opening the funnel for competitors to reclaim visibility.

Amazon has made a sharp, unannounced retreat from Google Shopping ads—vacating a performance channel where it long dominated impression share. The move is already shifting cost structures and competitive visibility for brands across multiple categories.

Amazon all but vanished from the Google Shopping carousel, according to several agency leaders. That’s notable considering it previously controlled more than 60% of Shopping ad impressions in the U.S., per Tinuiti. The exit leaves behind premium inventory and funnel access just as back-to-school and early holiday season planning kicks off.

“Advertisers we work with are seeing cost-per-clicks fall by as much as 40% and impression share rise by 20% or more overnight,” said Josh Brisco, Group VP of acquisition media at Tinuiti. “For many, this is the best opportunity in years to win on paid shopping.”

Amazon hasn’t publicly confirmed the rationale, but insiders speculate it may be a strategic test to assess marginal returns on Shopping investment—or a signal that more spend is shifting into its owned channels and retail media network.

For competitors, especially direct-to-consumer and mid-market brands, the timing couldn’t be better. The exit levels the playing field on some of the most contested keywords in e-commerce and may alter the economics of lower-funnel digital spend if the trend holds.

Whether temporary or part of a broader repositioning, Amazon’s silence has created a brief but valuable moment of clarity for competitors looking to scale efficiently in Google’s ad ecosystem.