Amazon Ghosts Google: What DTC Brands Just Learned About the “Volume Trap”

In late July, Amazon pulled off one of the boldest ad moves we’ve seen in years: it yanked every single dollar out of Google Shopping. Overnight, their impression share dropped from ~60% to zero in the U.S., U.K., and Germany.

This wasn’t a budget trim. It was a calculated power play.

And it created a rare, real-world experiment that exposed something ugly most brands don’t want to admit: more traffic doesn’t mean better results.

Welcome to the Volume Trap.

What Happened When Amazon Left

A study from Optmyzr tracked thousands of accounts before and after Amazon’s sudden disappearance.

At first glance, the news looked amazing for brands:

• CPCs dropped 8.3%

• Clicks jumped 7.8%

But when you zoom in on the value side, the story flips:

• Conversion value dropped 5.5%

• ROAS fell 4.4%

Translation: Brands paid less for more traffic… but made less money.

Why? Because a wave of Amazon-loyal shoppers clicked through competitor ads expecting Prime speed, rock-bottom pricing, and Amazon’s seamless checkout. When those expectations weren’t met? They bounced, bought cheaper items, or abandoned carts.

That’s the volume trap: chasing clicks that don’t convert into value.

Who Won, Who Lost

The impact wasn’t even across the board. Category breakdown shows who could hang with Amazon and who got smoked:

• Electronics = Winner. Conversions skyrocketed 81.3%, ROAS up 7.1%. Brands like Best Buy and Apple could actually match Amazon on speed and trust.

• Home & Garden = Loser. +13.1% clicks but –7.5% conversion value. Shoppers browsed, but didn’t buy.

• Sporting Goods = Textbook Volume Trap. Conversions up 20.7%, value down 9.9%. Lots of sales, just smaller baskets.

• Health & Beauty = Mixed. +14.6% conversions, but value flat. Sold more, at lower prices.

• Furniture = Loser. +2% conversions, but –11.7% value. Buyers went cheap.

The lesson is brutal: unless your category can deliver Amazon-level convenience, traffic surges are worthless.

The Takeaways for DTC Operators

1. Audit your value prop. If you can’t win on price and speed, stop pretending you can. Lean into brand, community, sustainability—anything that makes you a different choice, not just another checkout.

2. Measure value, not vanity. Clicks, CTR, CPC? They’re surface-level sugar highs. LTV, ROAS, contribution margin? That’s what pays rent.

3. Test small, scale smart. When big players exit, don’t just dump money in. Run tight tests on high-volume keywords and see if displaced traffic actually buys at margin-positive levels.

Why This Matters Long-Term

Amazon’s move wasn’t random. They’re building a walled garden around Rufus (their AI shopping assistant) and their Retail Media Network. Translation: they want to own the entire funnel, from search to checkout, without giving Google a cut.

For you, this is the warning shot: platform dependency is a trap too. Relying on a single channel makes your growth fragile. When giants shift strategy, your whole funnel can collapse overnight.

The future belongs to brands that diversify—who build direct customer relationships while testing new channels (TikTok Shop, CTV, influencers) that don’t live or die by one platform’s algorithm.

Because the clicks don’t matter. The value does.

Question for you: If Amazon disappeared from your category tomorrow, would you actually win the displaced traffic… or would you fall into the same trap?