How Amazon is Redefining the Future of Advertising: Streaming Meets Shopping
Every media company and agency is feeling the pressure. Advertisers aren’t asking for “more impressions” anymore, they’re asking:
“Where is the proof?”
“Where’s the return-on-investment (ROI)?”
“Why should we trust this product?”
The demand for transparency has reshaped the landscape. Traditional media still matters, but without clear attribution, it’s losing ground to digital platforms that can connect exposure to real customer behavior.
And that’s where Amazon advertising has changed the game.
Amazon has combined streaming entertainment and shopping intent into a single, measurable advertising ecosystem, providing agencies and media companies with something they’ve been missing: a way to tell a story and prove its impact.
This is why shopping and streaming aren’t a trend; they’re the next major shift in modern advertising.
The Crossroads of Streaming and Retail Media
Consumers are watching more streaming content than ever. According to Parks Associates (via MSN.com), 91% of internet-connected households subscribe to at least one streaming service. At the same time, retail media—fueled by real shopping behavior—is the fastest-growing category in digital advertising.
eMarketer projects that:
- Retail media connected TV is expected to grow 38% this year, outpacing every other central digital channel.
- Retail media is expected to account for one in every four digital advertising dollars by 2026.
- Over 70% of retail media advertisers report that video is one of their primary off-site channels.
- Amazon accounts for 80% of retail media advertising revenue.
This creates a rare opportunity: streaming brings attention, and retail media brings intention.
When you combine the two, you can unlock a full-funnel, highly targeted, brand-safe advertising environment unlike anything the industry has seen before. And Amazon is the only platform operating at this intersection at an accurate scale.
Through Amazon advertising products, you can reach verified shoppers, people who’ve browsed, clicked, searched, or purchased—while they’re streaming premium content like Prime Video, Disney+, HBO, and IMDb.
Why Amazon’s Model is Changing Advertising Forever
Every streaming platform promises “reach,” but Amazon takes it a step further. It offers reach with relevance, powered by their most comprehensive first-party shopper data.
Amazon isn’t just a streaming or shopping network; it’s an ecosystem that understands what customers are watching, searching for, browsing, adding to their cart, and purchasing. And because Amazon owns the entire journey, advertisers can finally target based on real behaviors, not demographic assumptions.
This means you can:
- Serve advertisements to viewers who recently browsed or purchased in a specific category.
- Retarget streaming audiences with display ads for stronger conversions.
- Optimize campaigns based on what real shoppers are doing, not what they might be doing.
Example: Local Sporting Goods Store
- Users browse camping gear on Amazon.
- They stream an outdoor adventure series on Prime Video.
- You serve them connected TV advertisements showcasing your fall camping promotion.
- After seeing your connected TV advertisement, the user sees a display advertisement days later to complete the conversion path.
That entire sequence happens right inside Amazon’s first-party universe—and it’s all measurable. This is attribution you can see, not just guess.
How to Capture Hard-To-Reach Audiences (Especially Gen Z and Millennials)
If you’re looking to reach Gen Z or Millennials, you already know the truth: they’re not just watching traditional TV. They’re streaming. They’re gaming. They’re following creators who feel more like friends than entertainers.
Twitch is a prime example of this shift. Once considered “just a gaming site,” Twitch has quietly become one of the most influential platforms for younger audiences. But more importantly, it’s where they’re fully present. On any given day, more than 35 million people open Twitch, with the majority being under the age of 35. What’s striking isn’t just the volume, but the behavior. These viewers aren’t scrolling or half-watching; they’re actively chatting, voting, reacting, and shaping the content as it unfolds. The average Twitch user spends over an hour and a half each day on the platform.
For agencies and media companies, this creates a unique opportunity. While linear TV struggles to capture these demographics, Amazon’s ecosystem, which includes Twitch, provides your clients with a direct path into the environments where Gen Z and Millennials are most engaged. Whether your advertiser is a retail brand, a fitness studio, a university, or a restaurant, Twitch provides access to an audience that is otherwise fragmented, distracted, or completely unreachable.
Why Streaming and Shopping are the Future of Advertising
Your audience isn’t living in separate channels anymore — they’re living in a blended, always-on media world. They shop while they stream, compare products while watching creator content, and discover new brands in the exact moment they’re ready to act. That behavior used to be unpredictable. Now, through Amazon’s ecosystem, it’s entirely measurable.
That’s the true shift happening in advertising today: attention and intent have finally collided.
Amazon doesn’t just offer premium streaming inventory; it connects that inventory to verified shopping signals, behavioral context, and absolute purchase paths. It’s the only platform where a brand’s story and a customer’s intent naturally meet in the same environment. But the opportunity is only as strong as your ability to execute it.
Amazon’s DSP is powerful, but it’s also complex, requiring deep platform expertise, ongoing optimization, and an understanding of how streaming and shopping data interact. Most agencies and media organizations don’t have the time, bandwidth, or internal resources to manage this effectively. That’s where the right partner becomes the differentiator.
How to Get Started with Amazon Advertising
AdCellerant helps you tap into the full power of Amazon advertising without the operational burden. Agencies and local media companies don’t need to replace what’s working. They need a bridge that connects their legacy strengths (local influence, trusted relationships, and brand storytelling) with digital performance capabilities.
Amazon Pro, powered by AdCellerant, helps you:
- Bundle Amazon streaming and display with your existing campaign product mix.
- Pitch smarter using shopper intent insights.
- Demonstrates ROI with transparent reporting charts for your Amazon Pro-specific campaigns right within Ui.Marketing.
- Creates multi-channel momentum that keeps your advertisers happy and spending.
- Identify new opportunities or industries that you have never pitched before, which would be a perfect fit for Amazon Pro.
- On-demand training, resources, strategy, and white-labeled digital marketing support whenever you need it.
Explore Amazon Pro and start building your next high-performing advertising campaign today. Book a demo with us today.
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