ACoS vs. TACoS
Every brand we audit tracks ACoS — ad cost of sale, the ratio of ad spend to ad-attributed revenue. It's the default metric in Seller Central and in every agency report.
It's also the wrong metric.
The math
ACoS measures ad spend against ad-attributed sales. TACoS (total cost of sale) measures ad spend against total sales — including organic.
The difference reveals the flywheel: is paid media moving organic rank, or is it just buying the sales you would have gotten anyway?
- Declining TACoS + flat ACoS = organic growing. Paid is compounding.
- Flat TACoS + declining ACoS = you're getting more efficient at paid, but not building the flywheel.
- Rising TACoS + falling ACoS = you're over-subsidizing sales with paid.
The third case is what most brands find when they do the math for the first time. It is not a happy conversation.
What good looks like
For a mature Amazon account, a healthy TACoS target depends on category:
- Beauty: 8–15%
- CPG snacks and beverages: 10–20%
- Home and outdoor: 15–25%
- Supplements: 20–35% in year 1 (the category is brutal)
- Apparel: 15–20%
A TACoS that is way outside this range in either direction is a signal. Too low usually means under-invested paid; too high usually means paid is propping up a weak organic position.
The retail readiness prerequisite
None of this works on broken listings. Ads on weak creative, incomplete A+ content, or products with 2.8 stars waste budget.
Before we touch an account, we audit retail readiness: listings, imagery, A+, reviews, inventory health. Then we touch the ads.
When to add DSP and AMC
Amazon DSP (off-Amazon demand) and AMC (Amazon Marketing Cloud, for audience activation) unlock the next leg of Amazon for brands spending $50k+/month on Sponsored Ads. For smaller accounts, they add complexity without proportional return.