Amazon vs. Walmart Ads: What You Need to Know to and the Main Differences From Amazon PPC
Walmart Ads currently offer only Sponsored Products and Sponsored Brands, while Amazon adds Sponsored Display and video ads. Walmart CPC averages around $0.38 and is lower than Amazon, but Walmart requires manual search‑term requests. Both platforms allow a $25‑per‑day campaign setup for a silicone baking mat.
Overview
Expanding an FBA business onto Walmart’s marketplace creates a fresh sales avenue, but success depends on mastering Walmart’s advertising suite. Sellers accustomed to Amazon’s Pay‑Per‑Click (PPC) model must grasp the different mechanics, targeting options, and reporting structures to allocate spend wisely.
Key Points
- Ad formats available — Walmart currently supports Sponsored Products and Sponsored Brands, whereas Amazon also offers Sponsored Display and video ads, giving Amazon a broader creative toolbox.
- Targeting depth — Amazon provides audience‑based, keyword, and product‑detail‑page targeting; Walmart limits options to keyword and product‑level targeting, reducing granularity.
- Cost‑per‑click trends — Average CPC on Walmart tends to be lower than on Amazon, but Walmart supplies fewer automated bidding utilities to help manage those costs.
- Reporting richness — Amazon delivers searchable search‑term reports and placement‑level metrics in near‑real time; Walmart aggregates data by campaign and requires manual requests for detailed term data.
- Creative constraints — Amazon’s Sponsored Brands let advertisers craft custom headlines and showcase multiple images, while Walmart’s Sponsored Brands restrict headlines to a single line and allow up to three product thumbnails.
- Platform navigation — Walmart Ads are administered through the separate Walmart Connect dashboard, whereas Amazon PPC lives directly inside Seller Central, meaning sellers must learn a new interface.
How the Two Advertising Systems Work
-
Campaign setup —
- Walmart: Advertisers sign into Walmart Connect, click “Create Campaign,” pick either Sponsored Products or Sponsored Brands, and input a daily budget. For instance, a vendor launching a new silicone baking mat might start a $25‑per‑day Sponsored Products campaign.
- Amazon: Within Seller Central, users select “Create Campaign,” choose the ad type (e.g., Sponsored Products), and set the same daily budget. The same baking‑mat product could be launched with a $25‑per‑day Amazon campaign.
Analysis & Recommendations
Why This Matters
Sellers can lower acquisition costs by shifting part of a $20‑$25 daily spend to Walmart, where CPC is typically cheaper. However, they must adapt to Walmart's limited targeting and manual reporting, which impacts optimization speed and ROI tracking.
Key Takeaways
- Walmart supports only Sponsored Products and Sponsored Brands; Amazon also offers Sponsored Display and video ads.
- Average CPC on Walmart is about $0.38, generally lower than Amazon's rates.
- Walmart provides aggregated campaign data and requires a manual request for search‑term reports, unlike Amazon's real‑time searchable reports.
- Both platforms allow a $25‑per‑day daily budget for a new product launch, but Walmart bids are entered manually.
Recommended Actions
- →In Walmart Connect, create a Sponsored Products campaign for your silicone baking mat with a $25 daily budget and set a $0.38 exact‑match bid for t...
- →In Seller Central, export your top Amazon keyword report, then copy high‑performing exact‑match keywords into a new Walmart Sponsored Products camp...
- →Enable dynamic bidding in Amazon PPC (up‑only) for the same product and monitor real‑time search‑term reports to compare ROAS against Walmart’s man...
Comments
Join the discussion
Log in or create an account to share your thoughts on this update.
No comments yet. Be the first to share your thoughts!