Amazon muscles in on Google's and Facebook's advertising turf

Google and Facebook dominate the lucrative business of selling digital ads, but experts say Amazon is positioning itself to snatch market share. "They have made the determination to take the advertising business seriously," said Rob Norman, chief digital officer for GroupM, an arm of advertising powerhouse WPP. Driving Amazon's digital advertising advances are the company's efforts to make it easier for customers to buy ads on Amazon websites, combined with a growing awareness in the business world that Amazon can offer advertisers a huge audience of consumers who are eager to buy, experts said. "Many (advertisers) had resisted it for a long time but are starting to realize that you need to be on Amazon, as you are on the other platforms," said Forrester Research analyst Samantha Merlivat. By the end of 2017, Google and Facebook had 63 percent of the U.S. digital ad market and 54 percent of digital ad revenue worldwide, according to eMarketer.