Amazon and Apple’s Secret Agreement Keeps Product Pages Clean of Ads
According to Insider, Amazon has been giving Apple’s product pages special treatment by keeping them free of unrelated ads. This suggests that there is an arrangement between the two tech giants. The Federal Trade Commission recently filed an antitrust lawsuit against Amazon, accusing the e-commerce retailer of deliberately increasing junk ads that negatively impact search quality. However, Insider’s investigation found that Apple’s product pages, such as those for the iPhone and iPad, have a clean layout with no ads or recommendations. In contrast, rival brands like Samsung Galaxy and Microsoft Surface display multiple banner ads and sponsored recommendations from other brands.
To verify these findings, Insider conducted its own test and confirmed that Apple’s product pages indeed appear cleaner. On the other hand, Microsoft Surface Pro’s page featured a carousel of sponsored listings with “4 stars and above,” along with related products and multiple banner ads. The House Judiciary Committee shared an email revealing that Apple had requested Amazon to keep its product pages free of ad clutter back in 2018. Jeff Wilke, who was then Amazon’s retail CEO, reportedly wrote in the email that Apple did not want to drive sales to competing brands through search or detail pages.
Apple has acknowledged that it has an agreement with Amazon preventing other companies from purchasing ads for specific Apple-related brand queries on the marketplace. However, they can still buy ads for key phrases containing an Apple name, such as “iPad keyboard case,” but not for “iPad” itself. Apple’s representative stated that the goal of the agreement was to create the best possible customer experience and that other companies are free to do the same. The deal also aimed to address Apple’s concerns about counterfeit products on the platform, as they used to send Amazon numerous takedown notices.
While it remains unclear whether any financial transactions took place between Amazon and Apple, the email shared by the House mentioned a potential financial deal. Initially, Amazon declined Apple’s request, but Wilke stated in the email that they could not alter their organic search algorithm to exclusively display Apple products in search results without compensation. Apple would need to purchase these placements or compensate Amazon for the lost ad revenue.