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mahatmakanejeeves

(56,897 posts)
Mon Sep 16, 2019, 05:00 PM Sep 2019

Amazon Changed Search Algorithm in Ways That Boost Its Own Products [View all]

Source: The Wall Street Journal.

WSJ NEWS EXCLUSIVE
Amazon Changed Search Algorithm in Ways That Boost Its Own Products
The e-commerce giant overcame internal dissent from engineers and lawyers, people familiar with the move say

By Dana Mattioli
Sept. 16, 2019 10:49 am ET

Amazon.com Inc. AMZN -1.71% has adjusted its product-search system to more prominently feature listings that are more profitable for the company, said people who worked on the project--a move, contested internally, that could favor Amazon's own brands.

Late last year, these people said, Amazon optimized the secret algorithm that ranks listings so that instead of showing customers mainly the most-relevant and best-selling listings when they search--as it had for more than a decade--the site also gives a boost to items that are more profitable for the company.

The adjustment, which the world's biggest online retailer hasn't publicized, followed a yearslong battle between executives who run Amazon's retail businesses in Seattle and the company's search team, dubbed A9, in Palo Alto, Calif., which opposed the move, the people said.

Any tweak to Amazon's search system has broad implications because the giant's rankings can make or break a product. The site's search bar is the most common way for U.S. shoppers to find items online, and most purchases stem from the first page of search results, according to marketing analytics firm Jumpshot.
....

Write to Dana Mattioli at dana.mattioli@wsj.com

DANA.MATTIOLI@WSJ.COM

https://twitter.com/DanaMattioli

Read more: https://www.wsj.com/articles/amazon-changed-search-algorithm-in-ways-that-boost-its-own-products-11568645345



ErikWemple Retweeted

https://twitter.com/ErikWemple

Big deal scoop here: Amazon changed its powerful search system in a way that boosts the company's own products, a move opposed by its own lawyers on antitrust grounds


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Happily, Amazon is one of several very large web biz being investigated now dixiegrrrrl Sep 2019 #1
What are the others? bucolic_frolic Sep 2019 #3
is this connected to no longer having net neutrality which I understand lets corporation do what yaesu Sep 2019 #2
No. n/t PoliticAverse Sep 2019 #6
techically no, although it's a similar problem in some ways. unblock Sep 2019 #8
They Didn't RobinA Sep 2019 #27
Anything and everything to make Bezos richer. dalton99a Sep 2019 #4
Amazon's own brands don't annoy me nearly as much as the seemingly infinite results tanyev Sep 2019 #5
Yep I've pretty much stopped ordering stuff on Amazon for that reason. Luciferous Sep 2019 #40
It's sad. tanyev Sep 2019 #47
They also treat their warehouse employees like crap. I have a couple of family members who Luciferous Sep 2019 #50
Someone is shocked that a company is promoting its own products? Or that a business pushes PoliticAverse Sep 2019 #7
It's their website. Mosby Sep 2019 #9
if they're not an effective monopoly, and they're upfront that their searches are biased, then ok. unblock Sep 2019 #11
Monopolies are legal. Mosby Sep 2019 #14
Wait, who was ever under any impression the searches were 'fair'? AtheistCrusader Sep 2019 #19
Precisely Sherman A1 Sep 2019 #37
no one should really be "shocked" that companies engage in anti-competitive behavior unblock Sep 2019 #10
I don't think you can make a monopoly case here considering how many other alternatives there are PoliticAverse Sep 2019 #13
Put in more simple terms Mosby Sep 2019 #15
microsoft destroyed a competitive market and absorbed it into a market it dominated. unblock Sep 2019 #22
Did you pay for your browser? metalbot Sep 2019 #52
Not that I can prove, but at least in theory, unblock Sep 2019 #55
No, But I Think RobinA Sep 2019 #29
Relevance is always dermined by the company that's doing the search for you, whether it's Amazon... PoliticAverse Sep 2019 #33
This message was self-deleted by its author onenote Sep 2019 #45
It's their own website... blugbox Sep 2019 #12
If it's boosting it's own products how could that NOT be at the expense of competing products? bucolic_frolic Sep 2019 #16
I would just assume that it is inherently not an even playing field. blugbox Sep 2019 #17
When grocery stores run ads and sales featuring their house brands, is that unfair too? onenote Sep 2019 #18
Or endcap displays? Midnight Writer Sep 2019 #21
there's little deception involved and not even whole foods has a monopoly. yet. unblock Sep 2019 #23
And who believes Amazon.com is a level playing field for Amazon's competitors? Rainbow Droid Sep 2019 #20
oh that could be because amazon itself said this quite a lot in the early days. unblock Sep 2019 #24
I Agree RobinA Sep 2019 #30
Tell Me About It!!!!! RobinA Sep 2019 #25
Is every fucking thing in this world rigged now njhoneybadger Sep 2019 #26
Yes. RobinA Sep 2019 #31
This njhoneybadger Sep 2019 #34
she has a plan for that. i saw this months ago thanks to warren. Kurt V. Sep 2019 #28
I NEVER use Amazon. Bad for the economy. oldsoftie Sep 2019 #32
I also stopped using Amazon a few years ago. athena Sep 2019 #43
+1! oldsoftie Sep 2019 #48
To be fair PhoenixDem Sep 2019 #35
i have searched other sites for same products and found there are often better deals JI7 Sep 2019 #36
+1. And Amazon commingles genuine brand-name products with Chinese counterfeits dalton99a Sep 2019 #42
Why is this a surprise? melm00se Sep 2019 #38
I used to love my Amazon prime but I use it less and less because of crap like this. Luciferous Sep 2019 #39
Amazon, Twitter. Facebook...they're all evil. jcmaine72 Sep 2019 #41
And governments the world over are trying to stop us from using cash too. oldsoftie Sep 2019 #49
Surprising who? Brainfodder Sep 2019 #44
I use Amazon all the time. onenote Sep 2019 #46
I have a merchant account matt819 Sep 2019 #51
Amazon isn't a public utility, why the fuck do people expect it to act like one? X_Digger Sep 2019 #53
Amazon is nonsense sometimes. The search is completely skewed JDC Sep 2019 #54
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