Mid-size Amazon brands spend 10.6% of sales on ads, Eva Commerce study finds

A new Eva Commerce benchmark of 150 Amazon U.S. brand-owner accounts found that mid-size sellers put a median 10.6% of Amazon sales back into advertising this fall. The study suggests bigger brands depend less on ads for growth, while Sponsored Display proved the least efficient format.

Why it matters: - The study gives Amazon brands a rare benchmark for ad spending, performance and mix across the $1 million to $20 million sales range. - The data suggests scale changes how brands grow on Amazon, with larger sellers leaning less on ads relative to sales. - Eva Commerce says the findings can help mid-size brands compare themselves against peers instead of guessing from benchmarks built for the biggest advertisers.

What happened: - Eva Commerce released "The State of Amazon Ads for $1M to $20M Brands," a study of 150 Amazon U.S. brand-owner accounts. - The analysis covers 90 days from July 27 to Oct. 24, 2026, including Prime Big Deal Days. - The median brand in the study spent 10.6% of total Amazon sales on advertising. - The median brand posted a 28.4% advertising cost of sales, a 3.53 return on ad spend and a $1.07 cost per click.

The details: - Median total advertising cost of sales fell as brand size increased, from 11.2% for $1 million to $3 million brands to 10.1% for $3 million to $8 million brands and 9.7% for $8 million to $20 million brands. - The largest revenue band still ran the highest median ad-level ACoS at 32.1%. - Sponsored Display was the least efficient ad type, with a 38.3% median ACoS. - Sponsored Products posted a 27.7% median ACoS, while Sponsored Brands ran at 26.7%. - About 90% of brands using Sponsored Display paid more per dollar of sales on that format than on Sponsored Products. - Sponsored Products accounted for 77% of ad spend. - Sponsored Brands took 12% of spend. - Amazon DSP took 6% of spend. - Sponsored Display took 5% of spend. - Amazon DSP use rose with brand size, from 25% of $1 million to $3 million brands to 55% of $8 million to $20 million brands. - DSP users had a higher median cost per click at $1.27, compared with $0.99 for non-DSP users. - DSP users also ran a lower median TACoS at 9.9%, versus 10.8% for non-DSP users.

Between the lines: - Hai Mag, CEO of Eva Commerce, said most ad benchmarks are opinions or come from the largest advertisers, leaving mid-size brands to guess. - Mag said the clearest signal in the data is that brands spending the smallest share of sales on ads are the ones with the most non-ad sales. - The finding points to a broader growth issue: brands that build demand beyond paid ads may be less dependent on Amazon media to scale. - The study is based on anonymized medians across accounts Eva Commerce works with, not a random sample of all Amazon sellers, so the results show correlation rather than cause.

What's next: - Eva Commerce is offering the full study, method and a free benchmark file with medians and percentiles by revenue band, category and ad type at the full study. - The company also directs readers to learn more at Eva Commerce. - The study may shape how mid-size Amazon brands think about ad efficiency heading into the next selling cycle.

The bottom line: - For mid-size Amazon brands, the study suggests growth is tied less to maximizing ad spend and more to expanding sales that come from outside advertising.