Despite concerns about inflation, tariffs and consumer sentiment, performance marketing agency Tinuiti found that businesses increased their advertising spend across major digital platforms during Q2 of this year. What’s more, brands might want to investment even more to take advantage of several marketplace developments.
Perhaps the most significant change is that Amazon appears to have stopped advertising on Google Shopping as of July 23. Amazon’s departure from Google Shopping “gives other advertisers the opportunity to get clicks they wouldn’t have before,” says Andy Taylor, VP, Research for Tinuiti.
Brands enjoyed a sneak preview of this opportunity from May 21 to June 8, when according to Tinuiti’s Q2 2025 Digital Ads Benchmark Report, the retail behemoth had pulled back its Google Shopping ads dramatically. Amazon’s retreat contributed to an 18% year-over-year increase in Q2 Google Shopping ad clicks among Tinuiti clients, with only a 1% rise in CPC. In comparison, Q1 year-over-year ad clicks had been up only 9%. Amazon not only returned to the ad platform in June but also leaned heavily into it during its July 8-11 Prime Days event, which is why Taylor admits he was surprised by its subsequent withdrawal.
Amazon’s pullback was only one reason for the second-quarter lift in Google Shopping ad clicks. The reduced presence of Temu and Shein was also a factor. Both of these marketplaces, which specialize in inexpensive Asian imports, paused their Google ad expenditures in mid-April, likely in response to the end of the de minimis tariff exemptions. Shein and Temu returned to the ad platform in June, Tinuiti reported, but the latter only modestly.
In addition to Google Shopping, “a lot of advertisers should be looking at Prime Video if they’re not already,” Taylor says, citing the streamer’s leading-edge audience targeting capabilities and competitive CPM rates. “One of the biggest storylines is the rapid growth of Prime Video ads,” which only debuted in January 2024. This year’s second-quarter ad spend on Prime Video among Tinuiti clients was up 22% from Q1 and up 1,201% from the first quarter of 2024.
Uncertainty Bad for TikTok, Good for Small Platforms
Among other findings from the Tinuiti Q2 benchmark report:
- The continuing uncertainty regarding TikTok’s future in the U.S. led to a 20% median decline in year-over-year investment by Tinuiti advertisers and a 22% drop in CPM, making this another potential opportunity for brands to get more bang for their buck—though perhaps not for long. “The sentiment there is turning a bit,” Taylor notes. “As the can gets kicked further down the road, there are a number of advertisers increasing their spend.” Among Tinuiti clients, 36% increased their year-over-year second-quarter TikTok spend, by an average of 107%.
- Brands apparently redirected the funds allocated for TikTok ads to other, smaller platforms. Snapchat, for instance, enjoyed a 51% jump in year-over-year ad spend from Tinuiti clients who’d been on it at least since Q2 2024—its strong growth in five quarters—accompanied by a 42% boost in impressions. On Pinterest the increases were even more significant: a 66% lift in year-over-year spend and a 49% rise in impressions. Some of Pinterest’s growth was also due to advertisers’ enjoying strong results from the AI-powered Performance+ tools.
- Year-over-year ad investment on Reddit rose 55% among brands who’d advertised in both Q2 2024 and Q2 2025. That’s a significant increase from the 33% Q1 year-over-year growth. In addition, the number of brands advertising on Reddit in the second quarter rose 28% year-over-year.
- Year-over-year Google text ad clicks fell 3% during Q2, just as they had for the first quarter of 2025. Q2 spend among Tinuiti clients increased a modest 5% year-over-year and CPC 9%. For those running text ads on their own brand names, year-over-year CPC rose 13%, compared with a mere 3% lift for non-brand ads.
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