The online retailer that launched the AmazonSmile program, donating 0.5% of eligible purchases, was Amazon.
Amazon launched AmazonSmile in the United States in October 2013. Customers could shop through a dedicated website, select a participating charitable organization, and have Amazon donate 0.5% of the purchase price of eligible items at no extra cost to them.
AmazonSmile offered essentially the same prices, products, and shopping experience as the main Amazon site. The donation came from Amazon rather than being added as a surcharge to the customer’s order. Not every purchase qualified, since exclusions could apply to certain products, fees, taxes, and shipping-related charges.
The program was discontinued on February 20, 2023, after Amazon said its impact was too dispersed across more than a million eligible organizations. That later closure does not change the answer: Amazon was the retailer that launched it.