Amazon Cracks Down on ‘Incentivized Reviews’ on Marketplace
- Online retailer will now control any promotional reviews
- Fake reviews pose a threat to trust between brand and shoppers
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Amazon.com Inc. is tightening controls on “incentivized reviews,” in which customers receive free or discounted goods in exchange for writing product critiques that many shoppers use when making online purchases.
Amazon previously allowed such reviews to help new products pick up traction on its marketplace, as long as the person writing the review disclosed the discount. New products with no sales or reviews can otherwise get buried in search results, making it difficult for merchants to introduce new, lesser-known items to Amazon shoppers.