Amazon Uses Fake Clothing Suggestions To Drive Customers To Clothing Store

Overhype

from the for-the-humor-challenged dept

theodp writes “Amazon has an odd defense for its use of ‘faux’ clothing recommendations to help make its new apparel store perform well during the crucial holiday shopping season–its customers should have been smart enough to realize that Amazon was faking the recommendations for cashmere sweaters from Land?s End, Tommy Bahama Shirts from Nordstrom and Performance Fleece from Old Navy that were positioned next to what Amazon says are legitimate recommendations for books, music and videos.” Theodp, who seems to spend all day scouring the internet for any remotely anti-Amazon story to submit here, is probably just upset that he didn’t realize the recommendations were a joke to promote the new store. Of course, playing with humor in a retail business is a dangerous game – since people who don’t get the joke would simply assume that Amazon’s recommendation engine doesn’t work very well.