With Amazon’s new Consumer Panel, which turns buyer data into a pay-to-play commodity, consumer data, which has always been at the heart of Amazon’s business strategy, is now being institutionalized. Make use of sales data from thirdparty retailers.
Amazon’s latest attempt to obtain access to customer purchase data patterns is the Amazon Shopper Panel, which was just released. Every month, users will be rewarded for submitting photos of at least 10 paper receipts from non-Amazon owned locations ($10 for 10 receipts). The program was launched against the backdrop of additional scrutiny of Amazon’s usage of customer data. In July, Jeff Bezos appeared before Congress, and he may face similar parliamentary scrutiny in the EU as a result of his mishandling of third-party sales data.
To justify its investment in consumer information procurement, Amazon issued the following statement:
Amazon deals with businesses of all sizes to provide them with the tools, insights, and data they need to succeed in our marketplace. However, their shop is only one part of the problem. Customers frequently visit Amazon to read about and discover items before buying them elsewhere. In truth, Amazon only accounts for 4% of all retail sales in the United States.
As a result, brands frequently turn to third-party consumer panels and business intelligence, as well as a variety of segmentspecific data suppliers, for extra data. Many organizations utilize opt-in customer panels to acquire consumer feedback and purchasing information, and they are well-established. These companies compile statistics such as average sales price, total units sold, and revenue for tens of thousands of the most popular goods across several retailers.