Amazon’s Sudden Exit from Google Shopping Ads, and Why It Matters

Amazon just pulled the plug on Google Shopping ads: Fast, silent, and global. Between July 21 and July 23, 2025, their impression share dropped from about 60% to zero across major markets, including the U.S., U.K., Germany, and Japan. No tapering. No test markets. One weekend, they were everywhere. The next, gone.

Before the retreat, Amazon was the Goliath of Google Shopping. In some product categories, it owned up to 30% of total Shopping impressions. Now that Amazon’s bid pressure has disappeared, the auction landscape is wide open. And for e-commerce brands, agencies, and paid search marketers? It's a rare moment of opportunity.

What This Means for Marketers and E-commerce Brands

Let’s start with the obvious: cost-per-click is dropping. Without Amazon inflating the floor with massive budgets and aggressive bidding strategies, CPCs have slipped across the board. Some verticals are seeing 1–3% decreases, while others, especially where Amazon was most dominant, are seeing drops as steep as 40%.

The message is loud and clear, and smaller brands need to be listening. Now, there’s potential space to step into high-visibility placements they’ve been priced out of for years. 

But cheaper clicks aren’t the whole story. Impression share is up for grabs, and with fewer mega-brands hogging the top of the funnel, CTRs are climbing. For many e-commerce businesses, this sudden shift offers a unique window to reclaim visibility and compete head-to-head with competitors who previously couldn’t match Amazon’s budget.

Of course, we’d be naïve to think this is the new forever. This window is temporary. If Amazon flips the switch back on, or if other enterprise brands fill the void, competition will spike again. The early bird gets the worm, or, in this case, the impressions. 

Why Did Amazon Make This Move?

We don’t have a spy at Amazon HQ (yet), but several smart theories are floating around, and we think there’s some truth behind them. 

A Strategic Shift Toward Their Own Ecosystem

Amazon’s not playing small anymore in the ad game. Their ad platform is growing rapidly, with increased investment in DSP, streaming ads, in-app sponsorships, and AI-powered campaign tools. Why spend millions feeding Google’s ecosystem when they can build and control their own?

Controlling the Funnel and the Margins

Over 60% of product searches already start directly on Amazon. If they can own both the search and the conversion path, why share any of that control (or data) with Google?

A Tactical Pause?

This might also be a temporary test. Analysts suspect this could be tied to Prime Day post-analysis, Q4 strategy shifts, or backend changes in attribution or campaign models. If that’s true, we may see Amazon come back stronger, smarter, and more of a force to be reckoned with than ever before.

How Icepop Is Responding Right Now

At Icepop, we saw this shift almost in real time, and we’ve been capitalizing ever since. Here’s how we’re helping our clients take advantage of the disruption:

Auction Insights Audits

We’re digging into campaign data from the last two weeks of July, flagging any accounts that previously shared auction space with Amazon. Our goal is to identify where that freed-up visibility is already turning into wins, and where we can turn up the volume.

Budget Rebalancing

We’re shifting budget back into branded campaigns and Shopping, where CPCs have dropped. Lower costs + higher visibility = better ROAS. That’s a winning formula.

Campaign Experiments

This is prime time for testing. We’re launching new Shopping campaigns, expanding non-branded keyword coverage, and pushing Performance Max campaigns to see how they perform in this Amazon-free vacuum.

Channel Diversification

We're reminding clients: Amazon may be out here, but they're doubling down there. We're making sure brands have a presence across Meta, TikTok, Pinterest, Microsoft, and more. One-channel strategies are dead. This proves it.

What Our Clients Are Already Seeing

Smaller retailers are noticing a tangible shift in visibility, even if revenue hasn’t fully caught up yet. In many cases, the gap Amazon left is being filled by brands that’ve historically been on page two or below the fold. Now? They're finally getting some screen time.

“When a giant like Amazon makes a move like this, you don’t wait to ‘see what happens.’ You move—fast and smart.” says Jordan, Icepop’s CEO.

Performance Max campaigns are also showing signs of more substantial ROI. With one of the largest Shopping competitors out of the auction, Google's machine learning is working with cleaner, less competitive data sets, and that’s benefiting the brands that know how to optimize.

Why This Moment Matters

Amazon’s exit is a lesson in volatility and opportunity. Digital ad landscapes can change overnight. Dominant players can disappear. Auction floors can drop. If you rest on your laurels, you’ll be left in the dust. But, for brands and agencies that are nimble, analytical, and aggressive, this is precisely the kind of moment you wait for.

What You Should Be Doing Right Now

• Review your Auction Insights for July 21–24. Did Amazon disappear from your competitor list? That’s your cue.

• Increase Shopping budgets where CPCs dropped and visibility rose.

• Test new Performance Max campaigns focused on strategic verticals.

• Expand non-branded search terms now that the cost has dropped.

• Watch daily trends: if Amazon comes back, you’ll need to pivot quickly.

• Diversify your channels so you’re not caught off guard next time a big player exits.

Wrapping Up

Amazon doesn’t make moves like this lightly. And while the real motive might be part strategy, part experiment, one thing’s clear: the field is different now.

Whether you're running DTC, managing Shopping campaigns, or building full-funnel ecommerce strategies, this is a moment to act, not wait. Google Ads just became a little more accessible, a little more affordable, and a lot more appealing to brands that struggled to break out from under Amazon’s shadow.

Need help adjusting your strategy?

Icepop can audit your Shopping campaigns, simulate new CPC forecasts, and build a nimble playbook designed to take full advantage of Amazon’s absence. Let’s talk strategy.