It looks like Amazon has chosen the next feature to retire from its website. Part of a series of changes the company has been making over the last few years as it sheds weight from its e-commerce platform. This round will be affecting the charities that it has been donating to, called AmazonSmile.
The AmazonSmile program allowed shoppers to default all purchases through it or anything that started with “smile.” instead of “www.” in the domain. Each time they made a purchase, Amazon would donate a small amount (0.5%) of the purchase price to the charity of their choice. It was an admirable program that more websites/companies should offer.
However, the company feels that it hasn’t been having enough of an effect. Or maybe it was costing them too much money to operate (which is more than likely the case). Due to this, it will be closing the doors to the program next month in exchange for claimed alternatives that they will be in full control of.
It’s sad to see the program go and also a bit surprising. I personally know a lot of people that take advantage of it (my family included). So I find it odd that it wouldn’t be having enough of an impact when it comes to the number of people taking advantage of it.
The company has also recently nixed a number of other features, such as its massive reviewer ranking system (ie, top 100 reviewers, etc), as well as the ability to comment or respond to reviews. The latter of which was an incredibly helpful solution for those pointing out incorrections or fake reviews. It also prevented sellers from thanking customers for their reviews. Likely all part of an action plan to reduce staff numbers within low-priority departments.
