Retail giant Macy's aligns with Amazon in a strategic partnership where media purchasing decisions are made
Macy's, the renowned American department store chain, has announced a significant partnership with Amazon's Retail Ad Service. This collaboration aims to help brands selling on Macy's digital stores reach customers through streamlined and impactful advertising experiences.
The arrangement enables advertisers to purchase ads directly on Macy's website through Amazon Ads' platform and retail advertising firms. This integration provides brands direct access to Macy's advertising inventory without requiring interaction with Macy's sales representatives or internal technology systems.
Macy's, which operates 508 stores across the United States and reported annual revenue of $25.3 billion as of January 2023, has emphasised that the partnership complements its existing advertising technology infrastructure. Michael Krans, Macy's vice president of retail media, stated, "This partnership will enhance our advertising capabilities and provide a more seamless experience for our advertisers and customers."
Amazon's Retail Ad Service, launched in January 2025, operates on Amazon Web Services (AWS) infrastructure, inheriting the cloud platform's security architecture. The service processes contextual information to serve relevant advertisements across search results pages, product detail pages, and browsing pages. Machine learning models trained on shopping signals facilitate contextual advertising delivery.
While some transaction data will flow to Amazon through AWS clean rooms to support sales attribution capabilities, Macy's has assured that it will not share personally identifiable customer data with Amazon through the partnership. This data separation between the companies ensures customer privacy remains a top priority.
The success of this partnership could influence other major retailers to consider similar arrangements with Amazon's advertising technology platform. The pilot program launch represents the initial phase of what could become a broader strategic partnership.
The partnership's success metrics will likely include advertiser adoption rates, campaign performance indicators, and customer experience measurements across Macy's digital properties. As the partnership progresses, it is anticipated that Macy's will continue to innovate and improve the advertising experiences for both brands and customers.
While the specific person responsible for Amazon's Retail Ad Service remains unspecified, Ingo Schaffer, an expert in Amazon strategies and performance marketing related to marketplace optimization, might be relevant to Amazon's retail advertising services.
This collaboration marks the first major retailer collaboration with Amazon's advertising technology product since its January 2025 launch. With a $69 billion annual revenue run rate, and significant contributions from retail media capabilities beyond its own marketplace, Amazon's Retail Ad Service is poised to revolutionise the retail advertising landscape.
