Subscriptions ranked as the No. 1 most important revenue stream among news publishers worldwide, with 76% of respondents saying it was important, according to a December 2020 Reuters survey. Display ads (66%) and native ads (61%) were cited next, followed by alternative revenue sources like events (40%) and ecommerce (29%).

Brian Monahan, global client president and head of US ventures at Dentsu Aegis Network, described how this shift has evolved over time in an AdExchanger article titled “Audience Planning Ate Media Planning.”

Amazon has been steadily gaining on Google in terms of ad dollars and, consequently, has ramped up efforts to both pull marketers back in and to up the ante when it comes to beneficial offerings for brands—like these direct paths for ecommerce. Amazon has siphoned a decent share of revenues from digital ad markets at home and worldwide in recent years.