Amazon Reportedly Copied Products and Rigged Search Results

Amazon has been accused of copying products and using search results to promote its brands in India. This revelation came through an exclusive coverage yesterday by an International publication to protect Indian Brands on the biggest ecommerce platform. 

Based on its study of the internal data that includes emails, strategy documents, and business processes, the publication has even questioned Amazon employees to get details on 'unique processes which impact the end quality of the product' from various manufacturers from different brands.

The data has been said to have been exploited from Amazon.in. On detailed information available on the internet and the customer reactions to replicate products that are considered successful on the ecommerce platform. Two senior executives of Amazon, Diego Piacentini, who is no longer with the brand and Russell Grandinetti, leading Amazon's international consumer business, have been aware of these practices.

Explaining their stand on this issue, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos denied utilising the individual seller's data to push private-label business.

In response to the publication in writing, Amazon said, "As Reuters hasn't shared the documents or their provenance with us, we are unable to confirm the veracity or otherwise of the information and claims as stated. We believe these claims are factually incorrect and unsubstantiated."

Meanwhile, the victim brands have been struggling to protect themselves. The investigations are on, and either side has been stating their stands clearly. The European Commission is also said to start its probe to see if non-public seller data has been used to inflate sales of its retail products.

Amazon also said that it "strictly prohibits the use or sharing of non-public, seller-specific data for the benefit of any seller, including sellers of private brands," and that it investigates reports of its employees violating that policy. Piacentini and Grandinetti didn't respond to requests for comment.

Amazon has been under the scanner for the last few years. Be it in the United States, India or Europe. The accusations of promoting their brands at the cost of various products that are selling successfully are now what the biggest e commerce giant is facing.

Amazon states that its search algorithms are not designed in a way to promote its brands. The use of search seeding and search sparkles to help connect customers to products are digital solutions that do not resort to unfair means.

The tussle between the brands and Amazon is clearly stated by the publication that has documents supporting the claims. On the other hand, Amazon has also made its stance clear and swears by fair practices to conduct business online.

"We are committed to extending cooperation to all authorities in India and are confident about our compliance, "Amazon concluded.