Retargeting

Retargeting is an advertising strategy in which users who have already interacted with a brand, a product, or a website are re-engaged with targeted retargeting ads. The principle is simple: someone who has already shown interest is more likely to convert than a completely cold contact.

Technically, retargeting relies on recognizing returning users – via cookies, device IDs, or platform accounts (e.g. an Amazon login). Once a user is identified as a previous visitor, they can be reached again with specific ads on websites, in apps, on social media, or on marketplaces like Amazon. Retargeting is one of the most efficient advertising strategies in digital marketing because it builds on an already existing purchase intent.

The terms retargeting and remarketing are often used interchangeably in everyday conversation, but in the strict sense they describe different approaches. Retargeting refers to re-engagement through paid ads (display, video, programmatic), while remarketing classically means re-engagement via email – such as an abandoned-cart reminder.

In the Amazon context, the line blurs: Amazon uses the term retargeting for all forms of re-engagement through Amazon DSP and Sponsored Display. Email-based remarketing is not directly possible on Amazon, since sellers have no access to customer data.

View-retargeting (also called product-view retargeting or browse retargeting) targets users who viewed a product or a product detail page but did not buy. These users are already in the consideration phase: they know the product but apparently did not yet have enough conviction to complete the purchase.

View-retargeting usually has the highest conversion rates of all retargeting strategies, because the purchase intent is already there. A reminder is often enough to trigger the purchase – especially for products with short decision cycles.

Purchase-retargeting targets users who have already bought. The strategy pursues different goals than view-retargeting: instead of triggering a first conversion, the focus here is on repeat purchases, cross-selling, or upselling.

Important with purchase-retargeting: timing and Frequency Capping are decisive. Someone who has just bought and is immediately served the same product again finds it annoying. The lookback windows should therefore be carefully aligned with the product cycle.

Amazon offers two paths for retargeting: Amazon DSP for programmatic retargeting with full control, and Sponsored Display as a simplified self-service entry point.

The big advantage of Amazon retargeting over external platforms: Amazon knows the actual purchase behavior. While Google or Meta can only use page visits and clicks as signals, Amazon knows whether a user bought a product, added it to the cart, or only viewed it – and can retarget accordingly with differentiation.

Effective retargeting is more than just “show all visitors the same ad again”. You achieve the best results when you segment audiences, differentiate creatives, and deliberately map the funnel.

• Tier your lookback windows: Users who viewed your product yesterday respond differently than those who did so 30 days ago. Create separate campaigns for different time windows with adjusted bids.
• Vary your creatives: Someone who already knows a product no longer needs a plain product image. Show reviews, price advantages, or complementary products instead.
• Exclude buyers: Someone who has already bought should be excluded from view-retargeting campaigns – unless you are deliberately running purchase-retargeting for cross- or upselling.
• Mind frequency capping: 5–10 impressions per week are enough in most cases. More leads to diminishing returns and rising ad fatigue.
• Combine retargeting with prospecting: Retargeting does not fill the funnel on its own. Without awareness campaigns that introduce new users to your product, the retargeting audience shrinks over time.

• No frequency capping: Without a limit, individual users see the same ad dozens of times. This wastes budget and damages brand perception.
• Treating all visitors the same: A cart abandoner is closer to purchase than a user who only visited a category page. Bids should reflect that.
• Lookback windows that are too long: After 60–90 days, purchase interest has long faded in most categories. Money that flows into 90-day retargeting is often better invested in shorter windows.
• Looking at retargeting in isolation: The metric for evaluation is not retargeting ACoS alone, but its influence on overall TACoS and the Halo Effect. Also watch View-Through Conversions, which capture a large share of the impact with display retargeting.