X, Formerly Twitter, in Talks With Amazon

The social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter and owned by Elon Musk, is reportedly in conversations with Amazon.com to incorporate itself into the e-commerce company's ad-buying software, The Wall Street Journal reported. The news outlet reported that the potential collaboration would aim to target small and midsized businesses on Amazon’s marketplace and convince them to advertise their products on X. According to an individual familiar with the matter, talks of this partnership have since stalled but could resume in the new year.

Total Retail's Take: Multiple advertisers left the social media platform in recent weeks after Musk — who took ownership of X in 2022 — commented on an anti-semitic post on the platform. According to CBS, Musk referred to a post claiming Jews "have been pushing the exact kind of dialectical hatred against whites that they claim to want people to stop using against them" as "the actual truth." Companies that paused their advertising on X included Apple and Disney, according to multiple news outlets. Walmart also stopped advertising on X, telling the The Wall Street Journal "we've simply decreased spend over time to align with performance" and telling Reuters "we've found other platforms to better reach our customers." With advertisers leaving X, the social platform is looking to a potential partnership with Amazon as a way to bring brands back into the fold. Amazon's massive reach in the brand and retail space makes it an attractive recruiting forum for social platforms such as X.