What Did Amazon Do This Week? - 23-04-2023 [+30 LINKS]
AMAZON ASKS FOR BRANDS HELP BLOCKING FAKES
Amidst a week littered with lawsuits and legal woes, Amazon launched the Anti-Counterfeiting Exchange (PR), which lets retailers label and track counterfeiters, making it difficult for the ‘Nyke’ and ‘Looy Vee’ folks to move amongst stores. The exchange works similarly and uses technology similar to the credit card industry to identify scammers and stop sneaky tactics faster than before.
Costing the industry over a trillion dollars annually, fixing counterfeit product circulation is in Amazon's best interests to help all concerned. Not only does it keep retailers happy, but also the vast body of consumers who don't want counterfeit products.
How it works; Retailers and Amazon Sellers can contribute (it's not mandatory) information that flags counterfeiters to a third-party database that users can search and decide if they want to do business with specific parties before getting in too deep. The move stops the counterfeiters from simply bouncing around different stores to attempt to sell their fake goods, almost like a silent Uber score that tells people whether or not to do business with you.
The exchange is one of many areas of counterfeiting that Amazon is working on. Along with working directly with Customers and Border Protection in the US, Amazon also works with various entities worldwide to ensure the goods on Amazon are authentic. After all, it is in their best interests to do so.
SO WHAT?
Fake goods (and reviews) remain a massive problem for Amazon, so it's smart to include others for speed, scale and efficiency. This move is another step in the right direction in Amazon's quest to keep the platform as trusted as possible. The three-pilar strategy is working, perhaps not fast enough, although the numbers are going in the right direction. In 2020 the number of new accounts trying to sell counterfeit goods was 6 million, down to 2.5 million in 2021 and 800,000 in 2022, which is still a biiiiig, alarming number for Amazon, making this move all the more critical. Ultimately Amazon needs to protect brands, the store, and customers and, above all, show that they are dedicated to pushing out the counterfeiters. Expect a busy week for Amazon due to earnings (April 27, expected to be good) and another big week for big platforms in Europe.
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