Amazon has put unwanted sponsored products in its customers' baby registries

Customers complain that Amazon's ads use a deceptive design that encourages them to buy sponsored products rather than baby registry items from friends and family members. The Wall Street Journal. Many people reported that they unwittingly bought gifts of these advertisements and that their friends and family received unwanted items.

In gift registries, Amazon appears to include other new baby products, such as Playtex Diaper Genie diapers and Kimberly-Clark Huggies Snug & Dry diapers, as sponsored ads. The ads are placed next to the products requested by the users, which gives them the impression of being part of the wish list, with the exception of a small sponsored label. the WSJ note that these tricky ad designs have been around for at least a year, but are just starting to get noticed. About 60% of sponsored ads are in the registries, although parents have the option to delete these sponsored items. Amazon did not specify whether these ads had been left intentionally. These sponsored ads cost advertisers $ 500,000 per spot.

The Federal Trade Commission states that advertisements must be distinguished from others only for consumers and that they must be distinguishable. However, the tag sponsored by Amazon is small and gray and can easily be ignored. Amazon said to the WSJ: "We are constantly testing new ways to improve the shopping experience for customers." We have requested other comments and we will inform at any time.