The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ordered a supplements retailer to pay $600,000 for deceiving customers on Amazon's e-commerce site.
The
case marks the first time the agency has ever approved an enforcement
action related to the use of reviews from one product to boost another, a
technique known as "review hijacking."
- Amazon allows sellers to create variation relationships between different products and stock-keeping units (SKUs).
- The
system is intended to allow online merchants to let their customers
browse products with minor differences on the same product page.
- Supplements
retailer The Bountiful Company allegedly used the system to combine its
newer products with more established products that have received
positive reviews in the past.
- In one case, the company noted
that customer interest in one of its poorly received new products
"spiked the second we variated the pages."
- The FTC voted 4-0
to fine The Bountiful Company for the practice and to prohibit it from
using other "deceptive review tactics that distort what consumers think
about its products or services."
