I wouldn't put more ad budget into a weak region just because Amazon's new maps
By Robinlobo · October 23, 2026 · Curated by George's Blog
I wouldn't put more ad budget into a weak region just because Amazon's new maps flag it. They show where your brand trails its category, but there's a reason you're trailing. Here's what I'd check before spending more there:
Delivery speed comes first.
If your inventory is far away, a shopper might see “arrives Friday” beside your product and “arrives today” beside a competitor's. More advertising sends more people to that same comparison. Fix inventory placement before paying to bring them in.
Then check:
- If the whole category sells poorly there, your low sales mean something different from losing share in a strong market.
- Make sure shoppers in that region can actually buy your offer at a competitive price.
- You may already sell well there through Target or Walmart, so weak Amazon sales alone won't tell you how the brand is doing in that region.
A region with strong category demand, competitive delivery and pricing, but low brand share could be worth a test. You still need enough budget to learn whether the extra spend creates profitable sales.
If delivery or price is holding the product back, demand is out of season, or you can't fund a proper test, there's a good reason to put that budget into a stronger region instead. The product may already have the conditions it needs to convert there.
There's also a practical limit for smaller brands. These maps sit in DVA+ with advanced settings, where Amazon's DSP capabilities now live. A $1-10M brand running only Sponsored Products can't apply this feature to those campaigns.
In general, I'm comfortable putting more money into a region where we're already strong. We don't need to fix every weak region with advertising.