A Supplement Company ‘Hijacked’ Its Amazon Reviews to Boost Sales, According to the FTC

Vitamin and accessory maker , The Bountiful Company ( possess by Nestlé ) , has to pay off a $ 600,000 fine to the Federal Trade Commission for allegedly misrepresenting numerous product online . According to the FTC , Bountiful — which makes Nature ’s Bounty supplements along with other brands — engaged in “ review highjacking ” on Amazon.com . In other words : The company misinform consumers by combine multiple product Page into one , to artificially promote the figure of review and star military rating on new or poorly perform items .

“ The pillowcase against Bountiful sign the FTC ’s first police force enforcement challenge “ ‘ critique hijacking , ” in which a marketer steal or repurposes reviews of another ware , ” The Union watchdog write ina news release .

“ Boosting your products by hijacking another product ’s ratings or review article is a comparatively new tactic , but is still plain old false advertising , ” said Samuel Levine , director of the FTC ’s Consumer Protection Bureau , in the same press instruction .

Via ”review hijacking” Bountiful Co. used highly rated, well established products like this with “#1 Best Seller” badges to boost the sale of other, tangentially related supplements.

Via ”review hijacking” Bountiful Co. used highly rated, well established products like this with “#1 Best Seller” badges to boost the sale of other, tangentially related supplements.Screenshot:Amazon / Gizmodo

To engage in this misleading advertising tactics , Bountiful took advantage of Amazon ’s variation insurance , which grant companionship to lump Cartesian product together on the same pageboy if they only dissent in small and particular ways like color , size of it , quantity , or flavor , according to the Commission . For example , if a shirt comes in multiple colors , or if a multi - vitamin is uncommitted in bottles containing different numbers of tablets .

Yet in Bountiful ’s event , the fellowship lead beyond those grant variations and successfully petitioned Amazon to group together supplements containing different active constituent and expression , the FTC arrogate . By taking the Amazon heel for an elder , well - loved Cartesian product with mellow reviews , or even a “ # 1 good Seller ” badge and then inaccurately listing fresh items as variant on that intersection , the lesser known items profit from the install review , ratings , and Amazon badge .

The ship’s company allegedly used this manoeuvre with multiple unlike new and poorly sell items between 2020 and 2021 . In the first illustration , the company grouped two variations of its new “ Stress Comfort ” gummy add-on with more accomplished liberalisation - focus product . A society exec noted that the strategy boosted sales agreement of Bountiful ’s Stress Comfort line , and then suggested the party do the same with other products , concord to intimate emails included in theoriginal FTC ailment .

Ankercompact

Though the FTC order and complaint do n’t detail any finicky instances of customer damage , it ’s gentle to see how the product - lumping practice session could go beyond misleading and actually prove dangerous to consumer . What if someone had an allergy ? What if a client thought they were taking a much modest Lucy in the sky with diamonds of a vitamin than they really were , and overdoses ?

In addition to paying the $ 600,000 fine ( which is probably a pittance for parent ship’s company Nestlé),the FTC orderalso blockade Bountiful from “ critique highjacking ” go forwards — or do “ in any manner that distorts or otherwise misrepresent what consumers recollect of [ its ] products or help . ”

One further vista of the liquidation is that “ the facts say in the Complaint will be taken as true . ” However , Bountiful still seemed to light deny the allegations of misleading client in an emailed assertion to Gizmodo .

Ms 0528 Jocasta Vision Quest

“ The Bountiful Company has settled with the FTC on this matter to debar a lengthy and pricy legal challenge . We stick out behind our product and byplay practice and are convinced that consumers were neither lead on nor harmed by the magnetic declination practices implemented to assist consumers in find oneself standardised products , ” the company wrote . “ Bountiful is already abide by with the term of the ordering and will continue to do so . ”

In response to emailed questions , an Amazon voice say Gizmodo , “ There ’s no situation for fraud in Amazon ’s store . We have proactive measuring rod in place to foreclose name revilement and continuously supervise our shop . ” The company noted that it assisted the FTC in the agency ’s probe of Bountiful Co. , and that it “ will go on to assist enforcement agencies in holding bad actors accountable . ”

Though this specific strategy of intersection military rating manipulation may be comparatively new , it ’s far from the first sentence that shady listings and advertising exercise have emerged on Amazon.com . Counterfeit products have aboundedon the atomic number 99 - tailer ’s land site in the past times , and many scam sellers havelong used fake reviewsto inflate sales . append “ review hijacking ” to the long list of things online consumers now demand to be suspicious of .

Xbox8tbstorage