Test Amazon without selling on Amazon: a market test with Amazon DSP

A physical brand sold in mass retail, pharmacies or shops often hesitates for years before moving onto Amazon. Logistics, stock-outs, cash flow and the risk of cannibalising the brand's own website all hold it back.

Yet to find out whether your customers are on Amazon, you do not need to sell there first. Amazon has presented its DSP as open to advertisers whether or not they sell on Amazon: Quentin uses it to test the market without a seller account, without stock and without a product listing. SKYVISION is an agency specialised in Amazon advertising, so our view is biased. Quentin, co-founder of SKYVISION, walks through the method in this video (7 minutes, in French):

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Decide on data, not on a bet

Amazon may already have contacted you. You tried to work out whether to go through Seller Central or Vendor Central, and did not settle it. The worries are always the same: running out of stock if sales take off too fast, a cash-flow problem, cannibalising your own website's sales. And the idea that you will have to invest thousands of euros before you even know whether it works.

Deciding on those worries is a bet. Quentin suggests replacing it with a test: gather data on your customers' real interest, without touching logistics.

Amazon DSP, a tool to test before selling

DSP stands for Demand-Side Platform: a platform for buying advertising space. Amazon's own space (Prime Video, Twitch, Fire TV), but also the space of third-party sites and apps. Netflix is available from the fourth quarter of 2025 and Spotify since 1 October 2025, France included.

For a test, the value comes down to two points. You target very precise audiences on those channels. And you need no Amazon product listing to do it. The DSP in general, including for brands that do not sell on Amazon, is covered in our article Amazon DSP without selling on Amazon.

The test in three steps

Quentin takes the example of a sports watch. The test runs like this:

1. Define the audience. You can target competitors already on Amazon, but also sports fans: people who have watched sports documentaries on Prime Video, followed sports channels on Twitch, or recently bought sports equipment on Amazon. Several audiences can be tested side by side.
2. Choose how to reach it. A video presenting the brand or a product, an image, or audio, on the channels mentioned above. You can run several tests without a single product listing.
3. Launch, then measure. Quentin cites click-through rate, add-to-carts and sales: you track the indicator that matters to you and compare it with the profitability you had in mind.

This is an example to illustrate the method, not a campaign result.

What the test can teach you

If you already advertise on Google, Meta or TikTok, your targeting is probably fairly broad, so it does not always tell you who your audience really is. With precise targeting, you see how big the market that concerns you actually is.

You also reach a qualified audience, which Quentin describes as "lukewarm". The indicators become easier to read: does your price hold? does your product convince? Many clicks but few purchases, for example, can point to a conversion problem. The test can therefore help improve the product and the brand, even if you never move onto Amazon.

Duration and budget of a test

A test is read over a few weeks. Quentin mentions two weeks at the very least, and ideally a month to get some perspective. That is his view on how long a test should run, not a promise of results.

The video's title mentions €10,000: that is Quentin's example, not a rule. The entry budget is not a single figure: it depends on the access model, the country and the account history. The same budget spread over two weeks or over eight does not give the same test, and the number of formats matters too. We cover the topic in our article on the Amazon DSP minimum budget.

How to access Amazon DSP

There are two routes. Directly with Amazon, in self-service or with its managed service (which has a minimum budget). Or with a partner agency. SKYVISION is an Amazon Ads verified partner and remains an independent agency: we work for your account, not for Amazon. With us, a test can cover several target zones, defined together, with results reported transparently.

And after the test?

Depending on the indicator you chose, the result helps you decide whether it is worth going further with Amazon's data, meaning listing your products there: the whole brand, one product, two? Quentin personally leans towards Seller Central, without going into detail here. That is a view, not a rule. We can also help define a gradual launch.

Frequently asked questions

Do you need a seller account or a product listing to test Amazon?

Not for the test described in the video: no seller account, no stock, no Amazon product listing. You buy advertising aimed at targeted audiences and measure the reaction.

How long does an Amazon DSP market test last?

Quentin mentions two weeks at the very least and ideally a month. That is a view, not a guarantee. The duration is set together with the budget, the number of formats and the target zones.

Which formats can you use for a test?

Video, image or audio, to present the brand or a product on Amazon's channels and those of its partners.

To go further, read the complete Amazon DSP 2026 guide, see our Amazon DSP page, or find out how to track Amazon DSP funnel metrics.