Last week, Amazon made a last-minute offer to buy TikTok, just days before President Donald Trump postponed enforcement of the sale-or-ban law for another 75 days. Reportedly, the bid isn’t being taken seriously, so it’s unlikely the deal will go through.

However, the deal is worth considering because it shows how Amazon is trying to maintain its status as the top retail media network and ecommerce retailer in the US.

Here are three ways a TikTok acquisition would make Amazon an even bigger juggernaut than it is now.

1. Improving the path from product discovery to purchase

Amazon wants to own the entire shopping journey—from discovery to purchase.

• It dominates conversion and intent-based shopping but struggles in the product discovery phase.
• “Shopping on Amazon is very different from shopping on TikTok,” said our analyst Jasmine Enberg. “Amazon has struggled to compete in the serendipitous type of shopping that happens on social media, which TikTok has mastered.”

With this acquisition, Amazon could expand the already existing feature that allows TikTok users to purchase directly from Amazon without leaving the platform.

• Combine that with Amazon’s speedy logistics and fulfillment services, and it creates a frictionless shopping journey where a TikTok user could watch a “get ready with me” video, click to buy a product within the TikTok app, and receive it the next morning.

2. Expanding ad inventory

“There is a fair amount of evidence that Amazon is nearing a saturation point with on-site ad inventory, causing the pace of year-on-year retail media revenue growth to slow,” said analyst Sarah Marzano. “I think a lot of their strategic retail media moves going forward will be aimed at finding new ad inventory.”

• Nearly every Amazon search page shows at least one sponsored product, according to Q3 2024 data from Pentaleap.
• In fact, Amazon shoppers will see an average of 20 sponsored product ads per search result page, outpacing the average number of ads shown by CVS (13), Best Buy (8), Albertsons (7), or Target (4).

By acquiring TikTok, Amazon would gain a platform with millions of users and a built-in social commerce business, enabling the retailer to scale its off-site business seamlessly, said Marzano.

• It could help advertisers test more engaging, interactive ad formats like shoppable ads.
• Over a third (38%) of US ad buyers are going to focus at least somewhat more on shoppable ads in 2025, according to December 2024 data from the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB).

3. Increasing access to valuable first-party data

Retail media thrives on first-party data. It’s the foundation for targeted advertising, personalized experiences, and closed-loop measurement.

• The richer and more contextual the data, the more valuable the platform becomes to advertisers.
• Meaning, the data that TikTok collects is particularly powerful, offering real-time insights into consumer behavior, interests, and intent.

If Amazon tapped into that stream of behavioral and transactional data, it could use that to bolster its own ad platform—enhancing targeting, personalization, and campaign performance not only on TikTok, but across owned or other ad channels.

Looking back to move forward: This isn’t Amazon’s first attempt at blending short-form video with shopping.

• In December 2022, the company launched Inspire, a TikTok-style feed of shoppable short videos and photos embedded in its mobile app.
• Despite the familiar format, Inspire failed to gain traction with consumers and was quietly shut down earlier this year.

Now, Amazon could have a second shot—this time with a major advantage: TikTok’s built-in audience of highly engaged users.

• If Amazon could keep TikTok’s most engaging elements while avoiding ad overload or clunky integrations, it stands a better chance of success than with Inspire.
• And Amazon has proven it can nurture niche, engaged communities before—with acquisitions like Twitch and Goodreads, both of which continue to thrive within their ecosystems.

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