Amazon’s advertising arm continues to outpace its own booming retail business—and in Germany, it reached a new milestone in 2024.
Amazon’s advertising arm continues to outpace its own booming retail business—and in Germany, it reached a new milestone in 2024.
📈 Record-breaking growth
- Ad revenue climbed 23.6 % year-over-year, from €2.93 billion in 2023 to €3.62 billion in 2024 (ecommercenews.eu).
- By comparison, Amazon’s overall German revenue grew “only” 8.7% to reach €39.6 billion (ecommercenews.eu)—highlighting how advertising is quickly becoming a core profit driver.
💡 Why it matters
- Advertising now makes up over 9 % of Amazon’s total revenue in Germany (ecommercenews.eu). To put this in perspective, Germany’s major department store Otto generated €4.4 billion in total revenue last year—only about €800 million more than Amazon’s ad income (ecommercenews.eu).
- Globally, Amazon is the third-largest digital advertising platform after Google (Alphabet) and Meta (ecommercenews.eu).
🛍 The power of retail media
The surge underscores the rise of retail media—retailers like Amazon monetizing their shopper data by selling ads. In Q1 2025 Amazon’s global retail media ad revenue grew 21 % to $13.3 billion, and WARC projects its total ad revenue this year to hit $60.6 billion (advanced-television.com).
🌍 Implications for German advertisers and consumers
- Powerful targeting
Amazon’s ads leverage rich first-party data—searches, purchases, browsing behavior—giving brands precision far beyond traditional digital platforms. - Competitive landscape
As Amazon captures ad dollars, its rivals—Google, Meta, and local players—are facing pressure. With ad spend on social and search growing modestly (~9–12 %), retail media remains the fastest‑growing segment (+14.4%) (advertising.amazon.com, advanced-television.com). - Marketplace dominance
As the top e-commerce platform in Germany, Amazon commands tremendous shopper reach. Advertising on Amazon isn’t just promotion—it’s full integration into the buying funnel.
Looking ahead
Expect ad revenue to keep growing:
- Germany’s e-commerce is stable, but Amazon remains a key driver.
- WARC forecasts global retail media will continue expanding through 2025 and beyond (ecommercegermany.com).
- Regulatory shifts (e.g., EU’s Digital Services Act) may require more transparency—but Amazon’s scale suggests it’s ready (sellerapp.com).
Bottom line
Amazon’s ad income in Germany is not only strong—it’s reshaping the digital advertising landscape. With €3.62 billion in ad revenue, Amazon is a formidable rival to traditional and digital media companies. For advertisers, the message is clear: in Germany’s e-commerce market, ignoring Amazon Ads means missing out.
