Amazon launches a new feature ‘following’ TikTok

Amazon is rolling out a new TikTok-like feature inside the app, allowing customers to shop right from a personalized photo and video feed, according to the WSJ.

The new feature is currently available to select customers, and will then be rolled out widely across the US. The portal, dubbed Inspire, will display a continuous feed of photos and videos of products customers can purchase through the app. The Inspire was previously tested with a small number of employees.

With the introduction of the new feature, Amazon’s ambitions are to go deeper into convenience shopping. The group also hires many influential KOLs to build interactions on the platform. Amazon’s user base is now in the hundreds of millions.

“Short-form video is an incredibly useful means of helping people discover and understand products,” said Oliver Messenger, Amazon Director.

According to Messenger, while Inspire focuses mainly on shopping, it can still expand into content sharing options and trending content.

According to Amazon, the Inspire will appear as a light bulb icon at the bottom of the app. Customers who click on the widget will go to a feed showing product images and videos, where they can tap “like”, view descriptions, and buy them.

Amazon is rolling out a new feature that allows users to shop right from a personalized photo and video feed.

Users will be asked to select interests, such as “gaming” or “pets” when using the Inspire for the first time, so that the new feature can sort the displayed content accordingly. Buyers can buy products displayed by influencers or several brands.

Tech companies have struggled for a long time to combine social experiences with online shopping, according to experts. Meta’s e-commerce services, which were developed in 2020, are no longer living up to expectations. At the time, some retailers said the service missed some basic elements, such as the ability to display products in different colors and sizes if they weren’t sold directly through Facebook. or Instagram.

Meta is one of the “followers” of the addictive short video app TikTok – one of China’s most successful and powerful social media platforms to date. In February, Meta launched its short video product Reels globally; while Google expands YouTube Shorts to show videos up to 60 seconds in length.

According to Messenger, the company will process customer feedback about Inspire and see it as a platform that reshapes the way it evolves.

Amazon is in the most important business period of the year. The group previously warned that fourth-quarter sales may fall short of expectations, and announced thousands of layoffs due to over-recruitment during the pandemic.

In recent months, Amazon has been forced to close its telehealth service, eliminate mobile delivery robots and stop inefficient brick-and-mortar stores. The group has also recently seen a drop in customer satisfaction, based on survey data and feedback on search results, products, advertising, services, and other issues. transport. In response, Amazon affirms that it will constantly improve the features on the website and the application so that customers have the most satisfied experience.

Amazon just saw its market capitalization drop below $1 trillion for the first time since April 2020.

From there, Inspire was born, partly to attract content creators and influencers on social networks. Amazon in recent years has tried to convince social network users to join a number of programs – where they are allowed to build personalized pages right on Amazon and earn money when followers (followers) buy goods. via custom link.

According to experts, the launch of a new feature by Amazon, partly also aims to increase competition in the US market. It is known that Pinduoduo and ByteDance – competitors from China, are using the strategy of low prices, free shipping and big promotions to pressure Amazon in its own home country.

The move to expand abroad comes at a time when Chinese tech giants are looking for new growth directions, as the domestic environment becomes less favorable. Particularly for e-commerce, the billion-people market is showing many signs of saturation.

“ByteDance and Pinduoduo are seizing the opportunity to apply unique innovations to overseas markets,” said Jacob Cooke, CEO of WPIC, a marketing firm that helps foreign brands sell in China.

According to some experts, Pinduoduo and ByteDance may reduce Amazon’s market share in certain areas, but are unlikely to affect the giant’s dominant position in the US e-commerce market.

“They face low brand awareness and need to build user trust first,” says Jacob Cooke.

“When large platforms have too many sellers, some merchants will turn to smaller platforms hoping to take the lead. However, Chinese companies like Pinduoduo are still not well known in the US. Their traffic is not as much as Amazon,” shared one trader.

Earlier in October, Amazon reported disappointing third-quarter earnings. The group also saw its market capitalization fall below $1 trillion for the first time since April 2020, its worst performance since 2008.

By: WSJ, Bloomberg