Report: Apple Strikes Deal to Improve Amazon Pages

Apple and Amazon have struck a deal, reported by Insider, to remove competitor ads from pages featuring Apple products, including iPhones, iPads, MacBooks, and more. This agreement has resulted in cleaner search results and product pages for Apple devices compared to their competitors.

Amazon still lists competing products on search result pages for Apple products but has limited the number of ads displayed above, below, and between results. For instance, searches for an iPhone 15 on Amazon will only display an Apple product in a banner at the top of the page and another ad banner at the very bottom. In contrast, searches for competing devices will show ads for various products and services throughout the results page.

Insider also notes that Amazon reduces the ads for Apple’s product pages. Pages for Apple products have relatively fewer ads, unlike those from companies like Samsung, which are often filled with recommended items from other brands lower down the page.

This ad-free experience stems from a 2018 agreement between Apple and Amazon. Jeff Wilke, Amazon’s former retail chief, acknowledged that Apple did not want to drive sales to competing brands on search or detail pages and did not want non-Apple products recommended on product detail pages.

Apple spokesperson Fred Sainz confirmed this arrangement, stating that it limits advertising in spaces with certain Apple-related queries. However, the specifics of any compensation between Apple and Amazon for the ad space remains unclear.

The avoidance of these “junk” ads is noted in the Federal Trade Commission’s antitrust lawsuit against Amazon, which accuses the company of extracting “billions of dollars through increased advertising despite worsening its services for customers.” By minimizing these ads, Apple may gain an advantage over other retailers on Amazon.