Amazon Allegedly Deceives: Another Side of the Online Bookstore
December 10, 2021
I think Jeff Bezos, the designer of the Bezos bulldozer and its other market moving equipment, has some interest in the Washington Post. Maybe I am wrong. Will and editorial Zoom call be convened to discuss “Amazon’s Search Results Are Full of Ads Unlawfully Deceiving Consumers, New Complaint to the FTC Claims.” The story could have been given a bit more zing. (Not surprisingly, one will have to pony up some hard cash to read this Bezos related story in the Bezos associated source. What? You want something free from the Bezos centric products?) As it is, it reports:
More than a quarter of search results on Amazon are paid ads.
Yep, selling digital ad inventory is a heck of a lot easier than keeping the AWS warehouse and product fulfillment system online. And those employees? Wow. Just use scripts and smart software to plug in ads for stuff people want to buy. How does Amazon know what sells? I assume it is one of those black electronic control units found in modern vehicles and possibly the Bezos bulldozer line of market shapers.
The write up points out:
Ad sales are one of Amazon’s fastest-growing businesses, and the complaint alleges the lack of disclosures around these practices runs afoul of consumer protection law. The company delays labels indicating a search result is sponsored for several seconds after a page loads, the group claims, a practice that “deliberately obfuscat[es]” ads. The coalition’s researchers determined the company was “substantially or entirely out of compliance” with all of the federal guidelines to ensure ads can easily be distinguished from organic search results.
Like the newspapers grousing about Facebook and Google and those estimable firms’ approach to advertising, perhaps Amazon’s executives have been studying these companies’ methods. And why not? The write up says:
The research firm eMarketer estimates that Amazon’s digital ad business will hit $24.47 billion this year, up 55.5 percent from 2020, and will capture 11.6 percent of the digital ad market.
With Facebook facing headwinds and the Google getting into healing, Amazon may sense an opportunity to grows its ad market share.
Is this desire good or bad? For stakeholders, Amazon’s push into ads is good news. For those who are horrified that the online bookstore continues to diversify its revenue streams, Amazon is a dangerous driver of a Bezos branded piece of heavy equipment.
Now about that editorial meeting?
Stephen E Arnold, December 10, 2021
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