Amazon breaks away from Google Shopping: why?

Amazon has left Google Shopping. Just like that, without warning, in a bold move.

This is a decision that can reasonably be valued at millions of euros in advertising budget, and it causes a considerable upheaval in the way advertising is conducted on the leading search engine. Now it is time to analyze what has happened… and what its global impact may be.

It does not matter what you search for, there are no Amazon results on Google Shopping

You can check this for yourself right now, if you wish (please, do not close our page :P). Try searching for “coffee maker” on Google. Or “Nike sneakers”. Or “digital camera Amazon”. Or “Alexa”, Amazon’s own smart device. Whatever you choose. None of the typical product searches with transactional intent, where Amazon used to appear among the results carousel on Google Shopping, now shows anything related to the well-known marketplace.

And it does not matter whether you perform the search directly from the Shopping section. The result remains the same:

In fact, the name “Amazon” does not even appear among the extensive list of available stores for any search you conduct:

Alright, but then… what happened between Amazon and Google Shopping?

We will not claim credit that does not belong to us. The first to notice this disappearance were (unsurprisingly) the companies that specialize in the precise art of paid search. Thus, Mike Ryan, from the company Smarter eCommerce, confirmed the impression that he had already shared on his X account this past July 24. Amazon had withdrawn from Google Shopping, suddenly, overnight, without leaving a trace:

As you can see in the graph, Amazon maintained a dominant presence in Google Shopping results, with impression shares ranging between 38% and 60% depending on the market. However, as of July 21, these figures plummeted sharply, disappearing entirely within an incredibly short time span. This is not the result of a gradual reduction, but of a complete and premeditated interruption.

In a post on LinkedIn, Josh Dugan, founder of the agency Vervaunt, explained that “in the approximately 13 million impressions we monitor daily, we have seen Amazon vanish entirely from the auction since Tuesday afternoon (the 22nd). On average, Amazon appears in roughly 30% of our client base’s Shopping auctions, which is a major shift. CPCs have not decreased, but it is certainly a metric worth reviewing in your account data and, in any case, warrants close observation.”

Take note. There is an important nuance here. Amazon has left Google Shopping, but it has not stopped advertising on Google. As you can see in this search for “Alexa,” the online giant continues to purchase sponsored advertising (“patrocinado”) on the search engine for certain terms:

Why has Amazon left Google Shopping?

Although Amazon has not issued a detailed official statement regarding this decision, as you can imagine, industry experts have not stopped discussing the topic, and upon reflection, we can infer some reasons behind this massive “blackout”:

One very clear reason could be the pursuit of greater independence. It is evident that Google has, for years, been striving to create a shopping environment. With AI Mode, Project Mariner, and the rise of the agentic web, it would be unsurprising if Amazon views its future dominance in purchase-oriented searches with apprehension. Additionally, by reducing its reliance on Google as an intermediary for customer acquisition, Amazon seeks to strengthen its own ecosystem, where it maintains full control over the user experience and purchase data. The ambition is for consumers to begin their shopping journeys directly on Amazon.com, .de, or .es.

Another, less likely, reason is economic in nature. By withdrawing, Amazon could be reallocating that substantial budget to other channels, notably including its own internal advertising platform, Amazon Ads.

And of course, there is also the possibility that this is a form of leverage for negotiating some type of agreement, in true Trump-like fashion.

Ryan himself speculated as follows on his LinkedIn account: “Is Amazon tired of funding its competitor Google? Is there some point of friction related to Amazon’s own advertising ambitions? Something involving AI? The effectiveness of the channel for Amazon? I do not believe it is about effectiveness. I have long argued that Amazon uses Google Shopping ads as a Trojan horse: Google cannot resist capturing advertising revenue; it is too attractive, and yet, there is the constant risk that Amazon might divert future product searches to its own platform. Whatever the cause, news of Amazon’s withdrawal will surely delight competing retailers. However, it may be less exciting for brands and sellers, who often benefit when Amazon advertises on their behalf.”

Alright, and what does this change mean for those who sell online?

If you sell online, and you run Shopping campaigns, this may be a (very) positive development.

Amazon’s exit from Google Shopping auctions represents a significant shift in the competitive landscape. At first glance, it is logical to expect that this move will lead to a reduction in CPCs (cost per click) for sellers. The departure of such a major player as Amazon means less competition in the auctions and, in theory, should lead to decreased costs per click for other companies advertising on Google Shopping.

Moreover, those other businesses will see an opportunity to gain greater visibility and impression share in Google Shopping results, since one of their biggest competitors has vacated the field. The secondary effect of this change? An increase in traffic originating from Google Shopping. Seeing the name “Amazon” among Shopping results was highly influential, especially if the person searching was, for instance, a Prime customer.

In any case, the consequences of this move could be multiple and unexpected. And some of them might be negative for marketplace sellers, regardless of their individual advertising strategies. Although Amazon did not advertise third-party sellers’ products directly on Google Shopping, Amazon’s massive presence in those ads attracted a large volume of buyers to the platform. Once on Amazon, these buyers could discover products from third-party sellers. In other words, there could be a slight reduction in the volume of completely new buyers arriving at Amazon via this specific channel.

Evidently, it remains to be seen whether this decision persists and how Shopping evolves in the coming days. While Amazon remains present in Google’s general search ads, its withdrawal from Shopping ads marks a milestone. This move reinforces the trend of major platforms aiming to consolidate their power and direct traffic toward their own strongholds. For Google, the loss of an advertiser of Amazon’s magnitude represents a blow to its ad revenues, though it will undoubtedly seek ways to compensate.

Image: Flux Schnell