Amazon.com Inc. launched a TikTok-style service that allows shoppers to purchase goods from curated feeds of photos and videos.
Amazon.com Inc. launched a TikTok-style service that allows shoppers to purchase goods from curated feeds of photos and videos.
The world’s largest e-commerce company on Thursday said the new feature, called Inspire, will roll out to select WE customers in early December and travel nationwide in the next few months.
“With just a few taps, customers can discover new products or get inspired on what to buy, all tailored to their preferences,” said Oliver Messenger, Director of Shopping at Amazon. and then buy those items on Amazon.
Amazon, which has long used static images and product descriptions to create a unified catalog, has tried to make it easier for shoppers to discover products rather than just searching for specific items. Despite these efforts, most customers do not linger on the vast online marketplace. More than a quarter Amazon purchase takes three minutes or less.
The so-called social commerce has long been popular in China but has been slow to catch up in the US. However, with TikTok making inroads into e-commerce, Amazon, Google of Alphabet Inc. and Meta Platforms Inc’s Facebook and Instagram. have added social shopping features to their service — with mixed success.
Amazon’s new Inspire service, which will appear as a light bulb icon on the app, will invite shoppers to choose from more than 20 interests, including makeup, pets and games, which will then be used to adjust their feed. Shoppers will be able to purchase merchandise posted by other customers, brands, and influencers.
It’s not clear that the Inspire will work. Amazon is known for introducing experimental features and quietly abandoning them if they fail.
