Apple has struck a deal with Amazon to remove competitors’ ads from pages for iPhones, iPads, MacBooks and its other products, according to a report from Insider.
The agreement makes search results and product pages for Apple devices clean compared to competitors’ pages.
Amazon limits the amount of ads displayed at the top and bottom of search results, although it still lists competing products across search results pages for Apple products.
The consumer sees the Apple product within a banner at the top of the search page, along with another advertising banner at the bottom when searching for the iPhone 15 through Amazon, while searches for competing devices display ads for other products and services throughout the search results page.
Insider’s report indicates that Amazon is reducing the number of ads on Apple product pages, in addition to blocking competing ads on the search results page for the company’s products.
Apple product pages appear relatively ad-free, with no ads for products related to this item or ads for items rated 4 stars or above.
The same isn’t true across product pages from companies like Samsung, which are often filled with recommended items from other brands at the bottom of the page.
The ad-free pages stem from a 2018 agreement the iPhone maker made to sell its products through Amazon, according to Insider.
“We understand that Apple does not want to drive sales from competing brands via search or detail pages, and we understand that it does not want to see any advertising recommending Apple,” Jeff Wilke, Amazon’s former head of retail, wrote in an email previously released by the House Judiciary Committee. With non-affiliated products on product detail pages.
Apple spokesman Fred Saenz confirmed the deal with Amazon, noting that it limits advertising in spaces containing specific inquiries related to the iPhone manufacturer.
It is unclear whether the iPhone maker compensates Amazon for the advertising space it consumes, and how much it is paid for it, as Wilk’s email stated: “Apple must purchase these placements or compensate Amazon for the lost advertising revenue.”
The unwanted ads that Amazon places on its marketplace are one of the behaviors that the Federal Trade Commission refers to in the antitrust lawsuit filed against the company, noting that it obtains billions of dollars through increased advertising, even though its service to customers has deteriorated.
