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| Newspaper: Amazon bans some competitors from advertising competing products |
Research from the Wall Street Journal found that Amazon limits the ability of some of its major competitors to purchase ads that feature their products in search results, differentiating their devices from their competitors.
The Wall Street Journal said: The company does not allow some device manufacturers to purchase ads for Amazon products, including (Echo Show), (Ring Doorbell) and (Fire TV) Fire TV. Although they are allowed to buy ads for other competitors' products on the site.
According to reports, Amazon Sponsored Products is a keyword-based advertisement that advertisers can use to promote specific items. To gain sponsor rankings, advertisers bid under certain conditions, and ads with higher bids are more likely to run.
Amazon said in a statement that it doubted the newspaper's findings, but acknowledged that some keywords related to Amazon devices may contain limited promotional material. The company said: This limitation is an example of a retailer deciding which products to advertise or display on the website, and it is a common practice. Amazon added that the company can bid instead of bidding.
Amazon spokesman Jack Evans said in a statement, "The latest news: Retailers are promoting their own products, and generally not selling their competitors' products." "Wal-Mart refuses to sell Kindle devices, Fire TVs and Echo devices," he added.
The investigation found that Roku, which competes with Amazon Fire TV, has been unable to purchase ads for Amazon devices and its own products for several years. The newspaper said that Roku search results from Amazon usually display ads for Roku competitors, Roku products offered by the retailer, and Amazon Fire TV promotions at the top of the search results.
Other competing device manufacturers are also facing similar issues, including buying ads in search results for the company's products, including: creating Facebook smart screens that compete with Amazon devices ;; Arlo Technologies, the manufacturer of smart doorbells that competes with the smart doorbells from Security Products. Amazon
It is believed that the new investigation may attract the attention of regulators who are already investigating the company's business practices.