The shopping experience on Amazon keeps getting worse and everything is turning into ads



Amazon has sold $ 31 billion (about 4.3 trillion yen) in advertising space sales, and has grown to become the third largest online advertising company in the United States after Google and Facebook. Amazon's ads are displayed at the moment of purchase, so it is also popular with some brands and sellers. The Washington Post, an American daily newspaper, points out that the user's shopping experience continues to deteriorate due to too many ads on Amazon.

Perspective | How Amazon shopping ads are disguised as real results - Washington Post

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/interactive/2022/amazon-shopping-ads/

Below is the search for 'cat beds' on Amazon.com. Not only are there ads at the top of the search results, but they are also displayed in what appears to be the top of the search results, and there is no product page displayed on the screen other than the ads. In this way, Amazon has a mechanism to display a large number of advertisements in search results



According to a search keyword survey conducted in 2020 and 2021 by data company Profitero, the first page of Amazon search results contains an average of about nine sponsored listings. That's twice as many ads as Walmart, the same e-commerce site as Amazon, and four times as many as Target.

The following is a graph showing the number of ads displayed on the first page of search results for Amazon (ocher), Walmart (light blue), Home Depot (orange), and Target (pink) since October 2020. . The number of Walmart ads has increased slightly since the end of 2020, but the number of Amazon ads remains the number one. An Amazon spokesperson said, 'We are dedicated to providing our customers with a world-class shopping experience, and we strive every day to ensure that the ads we display are helpful, informative, and make shopping a little easier. I am.”



The Washington Post wrote, 'You may think Amazon is unbeatable for its service, fast shipping, and easy returns. But when it comes to where to look for products, it's filled with neon signs that point you in the wrong direction. It's becoming a cheap strip mall,' he criticizes.

Below is a screen searched for '4k tv' on Amazon.com, the left one in 2015 and the right one in 2022. The part covered in orange is Amazon's advertising space, and you can see that the amount of information other than advertisements contained in the same screen size is greatly reduced.



Also, below is an image of the results searched for 'kitchen aid mixer' arranged in 2015 (left) and 2022 (right). As of 2015, there are still ad spaces, but in 2022, you can see that almost all search results are covered by ads. The 2022 screen is dominated by products from the manufacturers 'Kuppet' and 'Kuccu'.



To the left below is a tag indicating an advertisement called 'Sponsored'. On the other hand, the advertisement on the right below is also an advertisement, but it does not have the 'Sponsored' tag because it appeals to Amazon's own brand. 'Sponsored' seems to be presented when advertising costs are paid literally.



And HIGHLY RATED does not necessarily mean the highest rating. If there's a small 'Sponsored' sign in the corner like the one on the right in the image below, it's just an ad, not a highly rated pick.



An Amazon spokesperson said, ``Advertising will not work unless it is useful to Amazon customers.By creating a great customer experience, you can bring better results to your brand.'' Search results The Washington Post said, 'Is Amazon's advertising really always relevant?'

The Washington Post wrote, 'Let's be clear, advertising isn't necessarily bad. Hopefully, advertising will keep us informed about new products and help new businesses get their foot in the door.' 'While not denying the advertisement, 'At Amazon, we should be the customer, not the centerpiece of the sale. We ask Amazon to purchase the product. I am paying,' he said.

in Web Service, Posted by log1i_yk