Every shopping result is already an ad

It's ads all the way down.

When you buy something on a shopping platform, the platform gets paid. The product listing is the channel by which sellers reach buyers. In other words, every shopping search result is already an advertisement.

Shopping search is unique in that users arrive looking to buy something - they want to see what sellers have to offer. Showing them relevant products from sellers is part of the service, and being compensated for facilitating that transaction is entirely reasonable. The problem begins when platforms introduce sponsored products or promoted listings. At that point, they are stacking ads on top of ads.

Paid placement changes the platform's incentive. Instead of helping you find what you're looking for, the system starts optimizing for revenue: which seller is willing to pay the most for visibility. That shift degrades the experience for both buyers and sellers.

You end up getting worse deals

Shoppers searching for products usually have something specific in mind. Perhaps they are looking for a hammer. A user with clear intent is an advertising platform's dream customer.

The most beneficial outcome for everyone is to connect the customers with vendors who are selling hammers, and let them compare based on who has the lowest price or other desired features, and decide which one to buy based on best value.

Paid placement throws a wrench in this process. Results are no longer ranked by how well they match the user's intent, but by how much sellers are willing to pay. Lower-quality or more expensive products can get priority, and buyers are nudged away from good deals.

You end up paying for the ads

When sellers have to pay for sponsored placement to compete against other sellers in an auction for visibility, their marketplace advertising costs increase.

Ultimately, the only way for sellers to recoup that cost is to pass it on to buyers in the form of higher prices.

This creates a vicious cycle. Like trees in a forest competing for sunlight, they all grow taller but nobody gets more sun. Sellers keep raising their bids for visibility. Buyers pay higher prices. But customer funds are finite, so sales don't actually increase overall - the cost of ads just eats into the budget available for purchases.

You end up with a worse experience

When sellers have to compete for placement through bidding on ad auctions, resources are shifted away from improving their product or service towards spending more on promotion instead.

For buyers, what should be a simple and painless process - see the available options, compare the products, pick one and buy it - becomes a time-wasting exercise. You have to sift through confusing results and figure out which listings are just promoted placements that should be skipped.

Overall, this results in a platform that has become "enshittified" for everyone.

There's nothing wrong with ads.

Advertising has a place. Sellers need a way of reaching potential customers. Customers need a way of discovering products they might not have known about otherwise.

There are many places where it makes sense to advertise: on public transport, social media, the sides of blogs, or pop-ups in front of sites - some of these may be annoying, but they serve a legitimate business purpose. They are trying to convert you into a customer.

But shopping platforms are preaching to the converted. You are there because you want to buy something, and you usually already know what you want. You are already looking at a page full of ads - intentionally. That's the wrong time to try and sell you something else, or to charge you extra for buying what you were already going to buy anyway.