The Power of the Badge: Platform Endorsement in Online Retail
Lill, Gallitz, Stich & Spann: "How Platform Endorsement Shapes Consumer Search and Choice in Online Retail" CRC Discussion Paper No. 569
New research by Lill (LMU Munich), Gallitz (LMU Munich), Stich (Universität Würzburg) and Spann (LMU Munich) (2026) investigates the role of platform endorsement badges, specifically the “Amazon’s Choice” label, in guiding consumer behavior within information-rich retail environments. Through a dual-method approach involving a large-scale audit of over 200,000 search results and a “lab-in-the-field” experiment, the authors clarify how these signals interact with competing cues like search rankings and Prime eligibility.
The audit study reveals that the Amazon’s Choice badge is a highly selective tool, appearing on only 1.3% of products. These endorsed items typically feature lower prices, higher customer ratings, and superior search rankings compared to unbadged alternatives. While the presence of a badge is associated with an immediate 11.5 percentage point improvement in sales performance, the research identifies a curious asymmetry in persistence. The visibility benefit, an improvement in search rank, remains even after a badge is removed, but the sales boost disappears once the visual cue is gone.
To establish causality, the researchers developed a custom browser extension to manipulate badge visibility on live Amazon search pages. This experimental setup shows that the badge significantly drives consumer engagement, with endorsed products showing a 15.8 percentage point higher click likelihood and an 11.6 percentage point higher add-to-cart likelihood than their counterparts. However, when the badge is masked or reassigned, these advantages drop significantly, leaving only 53% of the click advantage and 42% of the add-to-cart advantage intact. The study emphasizes that while the badge’s impact is economically meaningful, it operates within a “multi-cue” environment where its influence is often rivaled by other signals. For instance, the benefit of Prime eligibility or a high search rank often provides more precisely estimated effects on consumer choice.
These findings suggest that platform endorsements function as a powerful mechanism for reallocating consumer attention. For scholars and regulators, the results highlight a potential tension in platform governance. While badges may help consumers navigate complex choices, their selective allocation, controlled by the platforms, may reinforce existing market advantages. As online retail continues to rely on algorithmic recommendations, understanding the interplay between these visual endorsements and other marketplace signals becomes vital for ensuring transparent and competitive digital environments.
Link (pdf): How Platform Endorsement Shapes Consumer Search and Choice in Online Retail
