Seema Shah · September 2024
Amazon Invests in Back-to-School Shoppers
Across the major retailer cohort, advertisers have pulled back on US ad spend in Jul’24, down 17% YoY, though back-to-school (BTS) ad spend increased (up 28%) as retailers vyed for seasonal purchases according to Sensor Tower estimates.
Key Takeaways:
Across the major retailer cohort, US ad spend in Jul’24 was down 17% YoY; however, when that ad spend is filtered by BTS keywords, school-specific US ad spend is up by 28% YoY, led by a 230% YoY increase from Amazon
Amazon, Target, and Walmart are the primary BTS advertisers across the cohort, accounting for 48%, 38%, and 13% of spend, respectively
Now that consumers are starting their school shopping earlier in the summer, exclusive members-only sales events can provide a kickoff for BTS purchases, though these sales risk cannibalizing broader BTS promotions. Per ST data, Amazon’s US DAUs have actually decreased over the past 4 weeks, down 6% YoY, despite its increased advertising spend, while Target’s US DAUs remained flat
Walmart was the only retailer to see US DAUs improve from last year, up 9% YoY over the past 4 weeks despite the company’s limited BTS advertising
US consumers on desktop, on average, spent 2x more time on Amazon over the past 30 days compared to Target and Walmart, and nearly 2x more time on the app as well, which suggests Amazon more effectively engaged consumers during BTS promotions through multiple touchpoints
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