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Selling on both Amazon and Walmart?

Smart move – diversification protects your business and opens new revenue streams. But if you’re copying the same PPC campaigns between platforms, you’re leaving serious money on the table.

Amazon and Walmart advertising has hit a tipping point. The playbook that worked six months ago? It’s dead.

The Platform Divergence: Why Your Cross-Platform Strategy Isn’t Working

Selling on both Amazon and Walmart represents smart diversification, but copying identical PPC campaigns between platforms leaves significant revenue unrealized. Based on current marketplace dynamics, each platform now requires specialized approaches aligned with their unique strengths.

The Current Reality Check

After analyzing advertising performance across both platforms, three critical changes have reshaped the competitive landscape:

1. Amazon’s AI automation has shifted control from manual bidding to algorithm optimization
2. Walmart’s omnichannel data integration enables targeting impossible on other platforms
3. Cost disparities have widened, with Walmart CPCs running approximately 30% lower than Amazon

Amazon’s Evolution: Mastering AI-Driven Advertising

What Actually Changed in 2024-2025

Amazon has systematically automated previously manual processes, fundamentally altering how successful campaigns operate:

AI Video Builder: Launched in beta September 2024 and made widely available to all U.S. advertisers in June 2025, this tool creates product videos from single images. Performance data indicates video ads consistently outperform static alternatives, with sponsored brand campaigns featuring video elements seeing 30% higher click-through rates on average.

Dynamic Headlines: Amazon’s system now automatically adapts ad headlines based on individual shopper search queries, moving beyond simple keyword matching toward contextual relevance.

Rufus Integration: Amazon’s AI shopping assistant became available to all U.S. customers in September 2024, changing product discovery from keyword-based searches to conversational queries. This shift impacts how products get found and which keywords drive visibility.

Extended Data Access: Amazon Marketing Cloud expanded its lookback window from 13 months to five years in January 2025, enabling better customer lifetime value analysis for brands with longer purchase cycles.

Strategic Adaptations for Amazon’s New Reality

Successful Amazon advertising in 2025 requires three fundamental shifts:

1. Foundation-First Approach

Amazon’s AI systems require high-quality input data to perform effectively. This means:

• Comprehensive A+ Content with detailed product information
• Professional product photography optimized for AI video generation
• Complete product attribute data to support algorithm decision-making

2. Build for Long-Term Value

With five-year purchase data now available through AMC, focus shifts from short-term ACOS optimization to customer lifetime value maximization:

• Segment campaigns by customer acquisition vs. retention objectives
• Use AMC data to identify high-value customer patterns
• Optimize for Amazon’s Long-Term Sales ROAS metrics rather than traditional ACOS

3. Separate Discovery, Research, and Performance

AI algorithms perform better with clear performance signals:

• Discovery campaigns: Auto and broad match for new keyword identification
• Research campaigns: Phrase match for qualified traffic
• Performance campaigns: Exact match for proven converting terms
• Hero campaigns: Single-keyword campaigns for your most valuable terms

Video Content: No Longer Optional

Amazon’s AI Video Generator helps brands create engaging video content from a single product image in minutes at no additional cost. Early adoption provides competitive advantages:

• Immediate implementation: Use Amazon’s free video generation tools
• Test systematically: Compare video vs. static ad performance
• Scale successful formats: Apply learnings across your product catalog

Walmart’s Strategic Advantage: Omnichannel Data Supremacy

The Unfair Advantage Nobody Discusses

90% of Americans within 10 miles of a Walmart store – and now they’re expanding their “dark store” concept. That’s the biggest reason why Walmart’s unparalleled omnichannel customer insights surpass anything available to Amazon.

True Omnichannel Targeting: When targeting “new parents” on Walmart Connect, campaigns leverage customers who purchase diapers in-store weekly while browsing car seats online—creating precision targeting that feels like mind-reading.

Real-Time Competitive Intelligence: Walmart’s system can automatically increase competitor keyword bids when their products go out-of-stock in key store locations, capitalizing on immediate brand-switching opportunities.

Brand Term Conquesting: Walmart recently launched brand term targeting, allowing advertisers to bid on competitors’ branded keywords while leveraging omnichannel purchase data for optimization.

Current Cost Advantages

Walmart CPCs typically range from $0.35-$0.75 compared to Amazon’s $0.85-$1.20 range, providing several strategic opportunities:

• Aggressive market share capture: Lower costs enable more competitive bidding
• Extended testing periods: Affordable CPCs support longer optimization cycles
• Broader keyword coverage: Budget constraints less limiting than Amazon

Walmart’s Three-Phase Strategy

Phase 1: Retail Readiness (Foundation)

Before spending advertising dollars, ensure operational excellence:

• Competitive pricing: Essential for winning buy box placement
• Inventory reliability: Consistent stock levels prevent wasted ad spend
• Fast fulfillment: WFS (Walmart Fulfillment Services) offers lower fees than Amazon FBA, particularly for heavier items

Phase 2: Search Foundation Building

• Start with automatic campaigns: Allow Walmart’s algorithm to discover relevant keywords
• Harvest winning keywords: Move successful terms to manual campaigns with tiered bidding
• Build negative keyword lists: Prevent spend on irrelevant traffic

Phase 3: Competitive Positioning

• Defensive strategies: Maintain high in-stock rates and competitive pricing
• Offensive conquesting: Test competitor keywords where you have clear advantages
• Seasonal optimization: Leverage Walmart’s store traffic data for timing

Performance Measurement: New Metrics That Actually Matter

Traditional ACOS and ROAS reporting provides incomplete pictures of advertising effectiveness. Both platforms now offer metrics aligned with business growth rather than campaign efficiency.

Amazon’s Advanced Metrics

Long-Term Sales ROAS: Projects 12-month revenue impact from current advertising spend, shifting focus from monthly efficiency to future business value. This metric helps advertisers understand whether higher ACOS investments today generate profitable long-term customer relationships.

Customer Lifetime Value Integration: Five-year purchase data enables true lifetime value calculations, particularly valuable for:

• Durable goods with multi-year replacement cycles
• Consumables with predictable repurchase patterns
• Premium products with high switching costs

Walmart’s Omnichannel Attribution

In-Store Purchase Connection: Walmart’s reporting connects online advertising to in-store purchases, revealing the complete customer journey impact. This proves especially valuable for:

• Grocery and household essentials
• Products customers prefer to see before buying
• Items with immediate need fulfillment

Cross-Channel Performance: Track how online advertising influences both digital and physical store sales, providing complete return on ad spend calculations.

Economic Realities: Platform Cost Structures Shape Strategy

Understanding platform economics helps determine optimal resource allocation and strategic approach.

Amazon’s Premium Economics

• Higher CPCs: Average $0.80 CPCs require surgical precision in campaign management
• FBA premium: Storage and fulfillment costs reduce profit margins
• Subscription fees: $39.99 monthly professional account requirement
• Massive scale compensation: Five times Walmart’s traffic volume with 61% of Americans starting product searches on Amazon

Walmart’s Efficiency Advantage

• Lower advertising costs: Approximately $0.56 average CPCs
• Reduced fulfillment expenses: WFS fees generally lower than FBA, especially for larger items
• No monthly subscription fees: Immediate cost savings for smaller sellers
• Growing but smaller audience: Fewer competitors but less total traffic

Strategic Resource Allocation

Amazon Approach: Invest in precision—higher costs demand surgical campaign management and proven performance before scaling.

Walmart Approach: Leverage efficiency—lower costs enable broader testing, aggressive market share pursuit, and experimental campaigns.

2025-2026 Evolution: Preparing for What’s Next

Amazon’s Expansion Beyond Marketplace

Amazon advertising is expanding across its media empire:

• Prime Video integration: Video advertising reaching streaming audiences
• Alexa commerce: Voice-activated shopping optimization
• Fire TV advertising: Connected TV advertising opportunities
• Cross-device campaigns: Unified campaigns across Amazon’s entire ecosystem

Walmart’s “Agentic Future” Integration

Walmart’s AI strategy focuses on omnichannel operation optimization:

• Supply chain automation: Improved inventory management and forecasting
• In-store associate AI: Enhanced customer service and product recommendations
• Fulfillment automation: Reduced shipping times and costs
• Predictive commerce: Anticipatory inventory positioning based on local demand

Actionable Implementation Framework

For Amazon Success

Week 1-2: Foundation Audit

• Review product listings for A+ Content completeness
• Assess product photography for AI video generation readiness
• Audit current campaign structure for algorithm clarity

Week 3-4: Campaign Restructuring

• Separate discovery, research, and performance campaigns
• Implement single-keyword campaigns for top performers
• Begin video ad testing with AI-generated content

Month 2-3: Advanced Optimization

• Access Amazon Marketing Cloud for extended customer data
• Shift focus from ACOS to Long-Term Sales ROAS optimization
• Build audience segments based on customer lifetime value

For Walmart Success

Week 1-2: Operational Readiness

• Verify competitive pricing across key products
• Assess inventory reliability and fulfillment speed
• Consider WFS enrollment for eligible products

Week 3-4: Campaign Foundation

• Launch automatic campaigns for keyword discovery
• Set conservative initial bids ($0.20 auto, $0.30 manual)
• Build comprehensive negative keyword lists

Month 2-3: Competitive Strategy

• Harvest successful keywords into manual campaigns
• Test competitor brand term targeting
• Develop defensive strategies for key product categories

FAQ: Common Multi-Platform Questions

Q: Can I use the same keywords across Amazon and Walmart? A: While product-relevant keywords overlap, bidding strategies, match types, and campaign structures should differ based on each platform’s auction dynamics and competition levels.

Q: Should I prioritize Amazon or Walmart for new product launches? A: Amazon offers greater traffic volume for initial market validation, while Walmart provides lower-cost testing environments. Consider launching on Amazon first, then expanding to Walmart with proven products.

Q: How do I measure success across both platforms? A: Use platform-native metrics (Amazon’s LTS ROAS, Walmart’s omnichannel attribution) rather than trying to standardize performance measurement. Success looks different on each platform.

Q: What’s the minimum budget needed for each platform? A: Amazon typically requires $1,000+ monthly budgets for meaningful data collection, while Walmart’s lower CPCs enable effective testing with $500+ monthly budgets.

Q: Should I use the same fulfillment service for both platforms? A: No. Use FBA for Amazon and WFS for Walmart to maximize each platform’s algorithmic preference for their respective fulfillment services.

The Choice: Specialization vs. Diversification

Platform specialization isn’t optional anymore – it’s the requirement for competitive success. The brands winning in 2025 understand that Amazon and Walmart aren’t just different marketplaces; they’re entirely different ecosystems requiring different strategies, metrics, and definitions of success.

Amazon rewards: Long-term thinking, customer lifetime value optimization, and AI collaboration 

Walmart rewards: Operational excellence, omnichannel integration, and competitive market positioning

Both platforms reward excellence, but they define excellence differently. Success comes from respecting those differences instead of fighting them.

The future belongs to brands that master both ecosystems. The question isn’t whether to sell on both platforms – it’s whether you’ll develop platform-specific expertise or continue leaving money on the table with one-size-fits-all approaches.

Canopy Management is a full-service marketing agency for Amazon, Walmart, and TikTok sellers. Our team consists of multi-million dollar, omni-channel entrepreneurs, industry leaders, and award-winning experts.