WSJ has finally come out with something that all of us already knew. Amazon has been rigging their search algorithms to benefit their own products. This isn't surprising, and it's something that most (if not all of us) have already noted is happening.
Though now we know to the degree that it actually happens. So here we go. If you are to search for something along the lines of 'mens button down shirts' or 'paper towels' a large amount of the products that will be shown to you are products that are owned by Amazon through a private label brand. That's not something that is shown to you, as they are displayed alongside the likes of other brands.
All of this is happening while the EU is currently looking into this very issue, and they're seeing if there is anything wrong with a company owning a marketplace and selling products on that very marketplace . I'm assuming they're looking at this under an antitrust lens, as Amazon also controls about 37 percent of all online sales.
Here is the WSJ article as well -
https://www.wsj.com/articles/amazon-changed-search-algorithm-in-ways-that-boost-its-own-products-11568645345?mod=hp_lead_pos5This is not surprising at all as anyone who’s ever shopped from Amazon would have noticed it, the only thing I’m surprised is that the EU was silent for so many years about this issue. In my personal opinion if Amazon wishes to sell on it’s own platform then they should not rig the results, as this practice is unfair to all traders who sell on Amazon. What do you’ll think will happen now will the EU will fine them, or compel them to improve the mechanism of how products are displayed to a user.
Eh I mean there's this very weird balance between them attempting to show that their products might be better than others, and themselves literally rigging the 'vote' towards themself.
What I mean here is lets just say that Amazon products were to get to the top naturally, people would continue to say that these products have been pushed up by Amazons actions.
I don't know what exactly the EU is going to call this as well, due to the fact that any company should kinda have autonomy on their own platform. It's like any supermarket selling store brand products. Maybe the issue here is that Amazon isn't always displaying that it is store brand. Though stores do this as well, by buying a brand (or starting one) and selling products under this brand.
Though as the EU is very consumer oriented, they'll most likely fine them and Amazon will continue to do as they please. It's more profitable to be fined rather then to change.