Amazon has pulled the plug on a pay-per-click advertising programme that allowed businesses to divert traffic from the retailer’s platform to their own websites.
The programme allowed businesses that were not sellers on Amazon’s online marketplace to buy ad space on the website. Targeted ads for specific items would pop up on Amazon’s website and drive shoppers to the retailer or manufacturer’s own site.
Scot Wingo, the executive chairman of ChannelAdvisor told Reuters that customers liked it because it provided a middle ground of being able to partner with Amazon but also not allowing them to see all their transaction data.
Wingo said the programme was known for its high conversion rate and said advertisers were surprised when they received an email from Amazon notifying them of the change this week.
An Amazon spokeswoman confirmed the change and said the advertising programme will no longer be available after October.
Amazon offers other advertising options for third-party sellers to differentiate their products like its sponsored ads program.
Angela Hsu, vice president of Internet business and marketing at Lamps Plus, a home decor company that used the product ads programme told Reuters she was disappointed.
The company was featured in an Amazon case study in May and said the programme increased its sales by more than 80 percent.
People are increasingly starting their product searches on e-commerce marketplaces such as Amazon before looking on an individual retailer’s website.
