Dive Brief:

• Amazon has developed a new "Top Brand" badge, affixed to several items in various categories but mostly to apparel and footwear, according to a blog post Friday from e-commerce marketplace platform Marketplace Pulse that was then reported by other news outlets.

• With a massive assortment that includes a proliferation of private labels (including from Amazon itself), badges like "Amazon's Choice" and "Best Seller" have emerged on the site as ways to help brand or item stand out, according to Marketplace Pulse founder Juozas Kaziukėnas.

• An Amazon spokesperson confirmed the badge, saying it is a feature the company has been testing within Amazon Fashion to showcase brands popular with customers. Shoppers will continue to see the Amazon Choice badge, which reflects a recommendation of highly rated, well priced items that ship quickly, according to the spokesperson.

Dive Insight:

Selection, along with price and convenience, is one of Amazon's three pillars supporting its essential promise to its customers to be "the everything store."

But it's easy to get lost searching such a massive assortment, and Amazon has attempted various ways to boost some brands and items as shoppers navigate its site. 

"Given how large the Amazon catalog has grown and the millions of brands it consists of, it's an attempt to help established brands stand out from the competition," Kaziukėnas wrote. "In the future, the badge might function similar to how verified accounts work on Instagram and other social networks. Brands which would get verified on Amazon, and thus receive the Top Brand badge, would rank first and command more trust from shoppers."

According to Amazon, the new badge is meant to highlight items just within Amazon Fashion and is only in a test phase. Generally, the practice has been effective in helping items stand out, according to Pacvue President Melissa Burdick, who previously spent time as an Amazon executive. But having too may could backfire, she warned.

"Amazon is constantly running experiments on their platform and the 'Top Brand' is one of (many of) these," she said in comments emailed to Retail Dive, but added that having both "Amazon's Choice" and "Top Brand" "would contribute to a lot of confusion."