Apple and Amazon Under Scrutiny for 2018 Agreement, According to Insider Report
Apple and Amazon are once again facing scrutiny over their 2018 agreement that allowed Apple to establish an official Amazon storefront. A recent report from Insider delves into the details of this agreement, with one source claiming that Apple is receiving “massive preferential treatment” from Amazon.
The deal between the tech giants has faced regulatory pushback over the past few years. Additionally, they are currently embroiled in a price-fixing lawsuit that alleges collusion to raise prices of iPhones and iPads.
According to the report, the agreement includes a provision that reduces the number of ads and recommendations displayed on Apple product pages on Amazon. In contrast, product pages for Apple competitors like Samsung are filled with ads, recommendations, and sponsored banners. Other companies, including Samsung, have reportedly complained about this preferential treatment given to Apple.
It remains unclear if Amazon has made similar offers to other companies like Samsung. Several salespeople on Amazon’s advertising team claim that they were unable to extend this special treatment to their clients.
Emails revealed in an FTC lawsuit against Amazon show that the company initially resisted Apple’s demands for special treatment but eventually gave in. In response, Apple stated that the 2018 agreement aimed to address significant counterfeit and safety issues on Amazon’s marketplace. Prior to the deal, Apple had sent numerous takedown notices to Amazon to combat counterfeits.
Apple believes that by providing accurate and qualitative content on its product pages, it has been able to reduce the sale of counterfeit and unsafe Apple products on Amazon’s platform, thus improving the customer experience.
The full report on Insider provides additional details about the early negotiations between Apple and Amazon. For instance, at one point, Amazon insisted that Apple compensate them for lost ad revenue resulting from the agreement. However, it is unclear if this demand was included in the final agreement.
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