01
−42%
ACoS reduction · median
Relative change versus the pre-automation baseline. The interquartile range is −31% to −54%.
Benchmark Report 2026
Measured effects
of automation.
A benchmark study of 1,006 Amazon advertising accounts representing over $200M in monthly ad spend. The study measures changes in ACoS, ROAS, wasted spend, and ad-attributed revenue after manual bid management was replaced by automated bid management, with results broken out by revenue cohort, ad type, and time horizon.
1,000+ accounts$200M+ ad spend / mo8 marketplacesJan 2024 - Mar 2026
−42%
ACoS reduction
median, n=1,006
+124%
Revenue growth
at flat ad spend
−61%
Wasted spend
removed
30d
Time to value
to first measurable change
Executive summary
The three primary
findings.
These are the three findings most relevant to operators evaluating automated bid management against in-house workflows. The sections that follow disaggregate each number by cohort, ad type, and time period.
- 01−42%MedianACoS reduction, median
Two configurations produced most of the result: automated negative-keyword sweeps and margin-aware bid caps. Manual workflows tend to set these once and revisit them rarely. Across the cohort, the median account recorded a measurable ACoS reduction within 30 days, with sustained gains observed between week 4 and month 3.
- 02+124%MedianAd-attributed revenue growth, median
Revenue more than doubled with ad spend held constant. The mechanism is reallocation: budget previously consumed by broad, non-converting search terms is reassigned to placements with documented conversion rates. Search-term harvesting then contributes additional gains as performing terms are promoted to exact match.
- 0361%MedianWasted spend eliminated
Wasted spend is defined as ad spend on keywords with zero conversions over 14 or more days at more than 1,000 impressions. Manual mining identifies a portion of these terms; automated mining identifies the majority within hours of the threshold being met. For the median account, this represents $4K to $11K of monthly spend recovered.
Sample composition
Who is in the dataset.
The dataset comprises 1,006 accounts at the time of this cut, distributed across three revenue cohorts and eight Amazon marketplaces. Both seller-of-record and vendor accounts are represented. Categories include supplements, home goods, consumer electronics, and apparel.
By revenue cohort
- Starter$5K - $50K / mo revenue37437%
- Growth$50K - $200K / mo revenue45846%
- Enterprise$200K+ / mo revenue17417%
Marketplaces (8)
- Amazon US
- Amazon UK
- Amazon DE
- Amazon IT
- Amazon FR
- Amazon ES
- Amazon UAE
- Amazon SA
Account types
78%
Seller Central
22%
Vendor Central
The five headline metrics
Five headline
metrics.
Each metric below is a median across all 1,006 accounts in the study. Cohort and ad-type breakdowns follow; spread around the median is substantial in several cases.
02
2.1x
ROAS multiplier · median
Return on ad spend, comparing equal-length periods before and after activation. The top quartile is 3.2x or higher.
03
−61%
Wasted spend eliminated
Spend on keywords with zero conversions over 14 or more days at more than 1,000 impressions. Action is taken within hours of the threshold being met.
04
30 days
Time to first measurable change
Median number of days from activation to a measurable ACoS improvement. The Starter cohort reaches this point at 21 days.
05
+124%
Ad-attributed revenue growth
Change in ad-attributed revenue with ad spend held constant. Primary drivers are harvested keywords and reallocated budget.
By revenue cohort
Percentage gains
scale inversely with revenue.
Enterprise accounts produced the largest absolute change in dollar terms, reflecting a larger base. Starter and Growth cohorts produced the largest percentage gains, since pre-automation campaigns in those accounts contained more uncorrected inefficiency. The breakdown indicates the relative headroom available at each revenue band.
ACoS reduction
n=1,006
Starter
$5K - $50K / mo
−52%
Growth
$50K - $200K / mo
−42%
Enterprise
$200K+ / mo
−32%
ROAS multiplier
n=1,006
Starter
$5K - $50K / mo
2.65x
Growth
$50K - $200K / mo
2.10x
Enterprise
$200K+ / mo
1.73x
Wasted spend cut
n=1,006
Starter
$5K - $50K / mo
−61%
Growth
$50K - $200K / mo
−49%
Enterprise
$200K+ / mo
−38%
Revenue growth
n=1,006
Starter
$5K - $50K / mo
+168%
Growth
$50K - $200K / mo
+124%
Enterprise
$200K+ / mo
+78%
By ad type
Sponsored Products
absorbed most of the lift.
Sponsored Products carries the densest keyword, search-term, and placement signal, and most accounts had the largest accumulated waste in this ad type prior to activation. Sponsored Brands and Sponsored Display show smaller changes because ad-type coverage across the cohort is less complete.
Ad typeACoS reductionROAS liftCoverage
Sponsored Products
−45%
2.20x
100%
Sponsored Brands
−38%
1.85x
82%
Sponsored Display
−32%
1.60x
68%
Coverage = % of accounts in the cohort actively running this ad type.
Performance progression
The J-curve appears
between week 4 and month 3.
Weeks 0 through 2 are flat by design. The Optimizer is collecting search-term and conversion data before issuing confident bid changes. From week 4 onward, gains compound as harvested keywords graduate to exact match, negatives suppress non-converting traffic, and budget shifts toward placements with verified conversion rates. Most accounts plateau around month 6 at the category ceiling.
ACoS change (lower is better)ROAS change (higher is better)n=1,006 · median per period
Featured cases
Six accounts behind
the aggregate numbers.
Aggregate medians compress what occurred inside each account. Each case below identifies the primary mechanism of change: funnel restructure, ASIN-targeting, search-term harvesting, or a new-product launch.
01Food Service
QNP Supplies
61.84% wasted spend reduction
ACoS reduced from 52.25% to 19.94% over six months on $48K of monthly Sponsored Products spend.
02Multi-category
Mungo Trading
47% revenue increase
Funnel restructure and automated negative mining increased ad-attributed sales without an increase in ad spend.
03Electronics
Clara
$196K to $523K monthly
ACoS reduced from 26% to 22.7%; revenue grew 2.65x. ASIN-targeting on the top three SKUs accounted for the majority of the change.
04Home & Kitchen
Mario10
124% ad sales growth
ACoS reduced from 26.95% to 15.58% over four months while ad spend doubled.
05Sports & Outdoor
Hockey Wraparound
$4K to $66K / mo (16.5x)
New-product ramp on Sponsored Products and Sponsored Display, with ACoS holding at 32.9%.
06Hardware
Shelly
€327K sales · 23.37x ROAS
New product launch achieving a stable 4.28% ACoS; the Optimizer converged on the ramp profile within weeks.
Methodology
How the study
was conducted.
All metrics were collected through the Amazon Advertising API at daily granularity. Pre-automation baselines were derived from historical campaign data recorded prior to AdFixer activation.
Definitions
- 01ACoS · Advertising Cost of SaleAd spend divided by attributed sales. Lower values are preferred. Industry average is 25% to 35%.
- 02ROAS · Return on Ad SpendAttributed sales divided by ad spend. Higher values are preferred. Industry average is 3x to 4x.
- 03Wasted SpendAd spend on keywords with zero conversions over 14 or more days at more than 1,000 impressions. Identified and removed automatically.
- 04Time to ValueNumber of days from AdFixer activation to the first calendar month with a measurable ACoS improvement.
- 05Revenue GrowthPercentage change in ad-attributed sales comparing equal-length pre- and post-activation windows.
Cohort selection
Data is aggregated from AdFixer managed and self-serve accounts across 8 Amazon marketplaces. Cohorts are defined by monthly ad-attributed revenue. The sample includes both existing campaign takeovers and new funnel launches.
Limitations
- Outcomes vary by category, competition level, and product margin.
- External factors including seasonality, inventory availability, and price changes affect outcomes.
- New product launches are evaluated against targets rather than historical baselines.
- Individual account results may differ from the aggregate medians reported here.
Statistical note
Metrics are derived from API telemetry and from documented case studies with verifiable Amazon Advertising data. Study period: January 2024 to March 2026. Evaluation window per account: 6 to 12 months. License: CC BY 4.0.