Amazon opens up India website, app to display ads, competes with Google, FB

Apart from Amazon India, Flipkart is also looking to make inroads into the large digital advertising market, said a news report

In a first for the tech giant, Amazon is wooing brands, even if they don't sell products on its platform, to put up display ads on its India website and app as it aims to compete with Google and Facebook for advertisers' dollars this festive season, the Economic Times reported on Wednesday. 

Media planners and digital advertising experts told the financial daily that the e-commerce giant has been promoting its 'Click-out' campaign since June. Amazon, for its part, had not responded to an email from the financial daily seeking comment at the time of publishing. 

While Amazon previously allowed only sellers and brands that sold products on its platform to run paid promotions for their listings, this is the first time that it is promoting external advertisers to place ads on its platform in India, said the report. 

Analysts told ET that in terms of cost-per-click benchmarks, Amazon's click-out campaign is marginally more expensive than Google and Facebook's digital ad products, while it is cheaper than LinkedIn's. They added that it was still too early for Amazon to gauge the campaign's traction. 

The report added that Amazon has run campaigns with Citibank and Maruti Suzuki, and is now looking to acquire more large clients and brands in the run-up to the festive season. It is banking on its large web and app traffic, as well as an understanding of customer intent, to drive high-quality leads for brands.  

According to the report, Similar Web, a web analytics platform, ranks Amazon.in as the fifth most visited website in India, behind Google, Facebook, Youtube and porn website Xvideos. Its rival, Flipkart, takes the ninth spot on the list.

Apart from Amazon India, Flipkart is also looking to make inroads into the large digital advertising market, said the report. The Walmart-owned e-commerce company has entered into a partnership with video-streaming platform Hotstar to help target consumers with more relevant ads on the latter's platform, added the report.