Amazon Ads Adds Cross-Retailer Audience Targeting via Attain

By Priya Raman

Amazon Ads DVA+ can now target display and video ads to Amazon users who also shop elsewhere, according to ADWEEK.

The capability comes from a direct integration with data firm Attain, whose own rewards and budgeting platforms collect purchase data from 15 million opted-in consumers. ADWEAK names Walmart, Dollar General, Kroger, Walgreens and Sephora among retailers covered by the service, alongside other retailers.

Advertisers can build audience segments based on purchase behavior across tens of thousands of merchants and brands in Attain's network, then activate those segments across Amazon's inventory. ADWEAK reports that this inventory includes Prime Video and third-party placements in Amazon's network.

A direct route to Amazon's ad stack

Attain's integration connects directly with the APIs behind Amazon's ad buying tool, Amazon Ads DVA+. ADWEAK says this differs from previous Amazon partnerships, which relied on an intermediary for targeting.

Attain CEO Brian Mandelbaum told ADWEEK the integration is “really bridging the gap between what happens on Amazon to what happens at retailers like Target and Walmart, and local grocery, etc.”

Mandelbaum's description extends beyond the retailers named at launch. Target and local grocery appear in his broader account of the opportunity, while Walmart, Dollar General, Kroger, Walgreens and Sephora lead the retailers identified for the service.

What does this change for advertisers?

Advertisers gain a way to build audiences from cross-retailer purchase behavior and activate them inside Amazon's ad system without relying on an intermediary. The practical change concerns audience data and activation, not a new Amazon ad format.

Under the arrangement, advertisers can select display or video inventory across Prime Video and third-party placements. Their audience criteria can draw on purchase behavior at tens of thousands of merchants and brands in Attain's network.

The 15 million-person data pool is opt-in. Consumers supply their purchase data through Attain's rewards and budgeting platforms, giving the company a cross-retailer record for audience building. ADWEAK does not disclose the size of the overlap between those consumers and Amazon users, specific segment templates, pricing or performance results.

That leaves media planners without several answers: the size of the usable audience, the retailer and purchase signals that shape a segment, and the cost of activation. The direct route removes an intermediary from the workflow, but the announcement does not establish whether it lowers cost or improves campaign outcomes.

For brands and agencies, the next step is to test an Attain audience on the same Amazon display and video placements used for standard campaigns and compare reach, delivery and cost. Those measures will show whether cross-retailer targeting offers a practical advantage over Amazon's existing audience tools.

Mandelbaum's central argument is that the integration closes distance between separate shopping environments. The next proof point for buyers is not another retail name on the target list, but evidence on audience scale, pricing and results.