Acquire New Customers is a new goal for Amazon Sponsored Brands Campaigns that, once fully implemented, will allow advertisers to target individuals who have not purchased from them in the last 12 months. These individuals are considered 'net new customers' by Amazon. The aim of this feature is to help brands focus on acquiring new customers rather than retaining existing ones.

To use the 'Acquire New Customers' goal for Amazon Sponsored Brands Campaigns, advertisers will be able to create specific campaigns that serve ads only to customers who haven't made a purchase from the brand in the past year. This enables brands to showcase their gateway products to new customers, initiating the customer's journey with the brand and potentially upselling other products and services to increase their lifetime value and brand retention.

The 'Acquire New Customers' goal is significant for brands on Amazon because it represents a strategic shift towards new customer acquisition. Brands often have entry-level products that serve as an introduction to their wider product portfolio. By targeting net new customers, brands can focus on increasing the lifetime value of these customers and improving brand retention by upselling additional products and services.

The critique mentioned is that while Amazon has introduced the 'Acquire New Customers' goal to target net new customers, they have not simultaneously introduced a campaign goal for targeting existing clients exclusively. This means that without retention-based goals, advertisers are still required to use other campaign goals that do not differentiate between new and existing customers, potentially leading to less budget efficiency and more spending on Amazon Ads.