Is Amazon Worried about Sponsored Ads in Search?

The Shopper Experience Research team at Amazon invited shoppers to take an online survey "to help us improve our search experience." It said participants' input would have a direct impact on improving the shopping experience of millions of customers. We don't know if this was a one-time survey, or if Amazon routinely asks shoppers about their experiences with search.

Shoppers who clicked through to take the survey were asked to open Amazon and type a detailed search for a product they were interested in buying within the next 30 days. They were asked if the first search result matched their search query; whether the first search result was "Sponsored"; and how satisfied they were with the search page experience.

The survey then asked respondents for demographic information, how long they had been shopping on Amazon, and whether they were Prime members.

It appears Amazon wants to determine if having a Sponsored listing at the top of search results makes a difference in shoppers' satisfaction. But sponsored listings in search results are so common now, it's hard to believe any retailer, marketplace, or search engine would pull back on serving up ads anywhere on search results pages.

One question sellers may ponder: if the #1 spot in organic search results is a sponsored listing that is also highly relevant to shoppers, then why not put the listing there and not charge the seller for "extra" visibility?

Will Amazon share the results of the survey with sellers who advertise? (It's understandable if sellers think the question is rhetorical, since it seems highly unlikely.)

Do sponsored listings on Amazon annoy you as a shopper, or are they helpful? What about promoted listings on other marketplaces and search engines? And as a seller, do you find them effective?

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