Amazon’s New Feature: Good or Bad for Brands
Amazon has been a big player in online shopping, offering many opportunities and challenges for brands. Recently, however, a new change has raised concerns: Amazon is now using lifestyle images to send customers to competing products. As someone who usually sees the bright side of Amazon, I think this crosses the line.
What’s the New Feature?
Amazon has introduced a mobile feature that adds clickable buttons on lifestyle images. When you see an image of a product, these buttons might lead you to similar items from other brands. For example, a listing for sweatproof undershirts could direct customers to suits and pants. This makes you wonder how relevant the suggestions really are.
Why This Matters for Brands
- Money Down the Drain: Brands spend a lot on creating high-quality images to show off their products and build their identity. If Amazon uses these images to promote competitors, it undermines this investment. Why would brands keep spending money on good images if they can’t be sure they’ll help their sales?
- Loss of Control: This feature takes away the power brands have over how their products are shown. Brands want to tell their own stories, and redirecting customers to competitors messes that up. If customers are constantly shown alternatives, why would they stay loyal to a specific brand?
- Fewer Sales: If customers are easily directed to other products, brands might lose sales. This is especially concerning for smaller brands that rely on Amazon for most of their sales.
No Way to Opt-Out
One of the most frustrating parts of this feature is that brands can’t opt out. They have no control over whether their images are used this way, making them feel powerless. This could lead to resentment towards Amazon, which many brands rely on for sales.
Why Bother with Images?
If brands can’t trust that their images will help sell their products, they might rethink how much they invest in them. If fewer high-quality images are available, the overall shopping experience on Amazon could suffer.
What Can Brands Do?
- Explore Other Platforms: Brands might want to market themselves beyond Amazon. Building a strong presence on social media and having their own websites could help them connect better with customers.
- Connect with Customers: Directly engaging with customers through newsletters and social media can create loyalty. This connection is important, especially if brands feel sidelined on Amazon.
- Speak Up: Brands should share their concerns with Amazon and push for better policies regarding their images. Working together can help amplify their voices.
Conclusion
Amazon has changed the way we shop, but this new feature raises important questions for brands. By directing customers to competitors, Amazon risks hurting the very businesses it depends on. Brands need to rethink their strategies and prepare for a future where their marketing assets might not be safe. Hopefully, Amazon will listen to its sellers and create a fairer environment where brands can thrive.
