Macy's Strikes Deal with Amazon to Sell Ads

In a move that’s sent ripples through the retail and advertising world, Macy’s now allows brands to buy ad placements on its website via the Amazon Ads console—making it the first major retailer to partner with Amazon’s Retail Ad Service. Advertisers can access Macy’s engaged audience directly using Amazon’s familiar ad-buying tools and industry-leading reporting, scaling campaigns quickly for the pivotal holiday season.

Why would Macy’s leap into Amazon’s turf? Macy’s is fighting declining sales and intense competition, and needs fast, scalable solutions to grow revenue from its media network. By opening the doors to Amazon’s ad-tech, Macy’s instantly broadens its advertiser base, removes friction for brands used to buying across different platforms, and keeps its advertising experience under its own control. It’s about survival and speed—meeting media buyers in the tools they already use and growing ad income without reinventing the wheel.

That speed comes with risks. The biggest is data. Sharing even limited transaction information with a powerful competitor like Amazon may compromise Macy’s first-party customer insights, which are precious for retail media networks. Over-reliance could also leave Macy’s vulnerable if Amazon seeks more control down the road, shifting the balance of power in retail advertising even further towards itself. There’s the enduring risk of Macy’s losing its unique brand identity and advertiser relationships if Amazon’s platform becomes the one-stop shop for every retailer.

But for Amazon, the upside is huge. Not only does it reinforce its dominance in retail media, it puts them in position to be thego-to enabling platform for brands seeking to invest in Retail Media.