Retail media — ads sold directly by retailers on their own product and search pages — is the fastest-growing category in ALL of digital advertising, for one simple reason: retailers own first-party PURCHASE data, not just browsing behavior, which makes their targeting and attribution more precise than almost anything on the open web.
Amazon Sponsored Products
Cost-per-click ads for individual product listings, shown directly within Amazon search results and competing product pages — the single most-used ad format for any brand selling on Amazon.Most-used
Amazon Sponsored Brands
A banner-style ad featuring your logo, a custom headline and multiple products, placed at the top of search results — builds brand awareness while still driving directly to product pages.Brand + products
Amazon Sponsored Display
Retargeting and prospecting display ads running BOTH on and off Amazon, powered by Amazon's own shopper purchase-intent data — one of the few ways to retarget Amazon shoppers on other sites.On + off Amazon
Amazon DSP
Programmatic buying access to Amazon's audience data across its own properties and the open web — the most advanced, agency-grade tier of Amazon advertising, built for scale.Programmatic · Advanced
Walmart Connect Sponsored Products
Walmart's direct equivalent of Amazon Sponsored Products, placed across Walmart.com search and category pages — essential for any brand with meaningful Walmart shelf presence.Walmart-native
Instacart Ads
Sponsored product placements shown to grocery shoppers actively browsing or searching inside the Instacart app — reaches people in the exact moment of a grocery buying decision.Grocery-specific
Target Roundel
Target's own retail media network, offering sponsored search and display placements directly on Target.com — increasingly important as retail media networks multiply beyond just Amazon and Walmart.Target-native
Etsy Offsite Ads
Etsy promotes seller listings across Google, Facebook and Instagram automatically, billing sellers only on the resulting sale — a rare performance-only ad model where you literally cannot pay for a click that doesn't convert.Performance-only
How much it costs: minimum budget and billing by Amazon ad format
Amazon doesn't publish many numbers about its own ad formats — but the ones it does publish are clear. Here's the minimum budget and billing model for each format, as described in Amazon Ads' official FAQ.
| Format | Minimum budget | Billing | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sponsored Products | $1 / day (or local-currency equivalent) | CPC, auction-based | Amazon's single most-used ad format: search results and competing product pages. |
| Sponsored Brands | $1 / day (or local-currency equivalent) | CPC, auction-based | Same floor as Sponsored Products. Logo banner + multiple products, at the top of search results. |
| Sponsored Display | No minimum ad investment required | CPC | The only one of the three with no published floor. Runs both on and off Amazon (retargeting). |
| Amazon DSP | No published daily minimum. Amazon-managed option: typically from $50,000 (display/video) or $25,000 (audio) | CPM for audio; varies by format for video | Programmatic buying. Self-service access at lower amounts exists through certain technology partners. |
Frequently asked questions
What's the minimum budget for Amazon Sponsored Products?
$1 per day, or the equivalent in your account's currency, per the official Amazon Ads FAQ.
Does Sponsored Brands have the same minimum as Sponsored Products?
Yes. Amazon sets the same $1-per-day floor for Sponsored Brands.
Is there a minimum budget for Sponsored Display?
No: Amazon explicitly states that no minimum ad investment is required for this format.
How is Amazon advertising billed?
Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands and Sponsored Display are all billed on a cost-per-click (CPC), auction basis. For Amazon DSP, audio is billed on CPM; other formats vary by placement.
Do you need $50,000 to use Amazon DSP?
That threshold only applies to Amazon's managed-service option, typically starting at $50,000 for display/video and $25,000 for audio. Self-service access exists at lower amounts through certain technology partners.
Sources: Amazon Ads, official FAQ (advertising.amazon.com/resources/faq). Page checked October 17, 2026.