Mehul Reuben DasDec 09, 2022 10:06:37 IST
TikTok has influenced the tech industry more than people realise. From Instagram’s Reels to YouTube Shorts, several social media platforms have tried to emulate the short-form content that TikTok popularised. It seems that Amazon is now going to introduce a new feature that is inspired by TikTok. There is also the fact that TikTok, also copies features and business ideas from other tech giants.
Amazon’s social shopping feature called Inspire came about when the e-commerce giant discovered that TikTok users were sharing a lot of content using the #Amazonfinds tag
Amazon will be launching a new social feed on its shopping platform, that will feature content from various brands and influencers. Amazon users who watch that content, will then be allowed to buy products that have been showcased or featured on those posts.
The e-commerce giant announced the new feature, titled Inspire, on Thursday, as per a report from The Wall Street Journal. The social feed is currently being rolled out to select US customers, and will be available to all users in the coming months.
The continuous feed will include short-form videos and photos featuring items available for purchase directly on Amazon. According to the company, Inspire is customized to the user and designed to eliminate the “need to search elsewhere or comment on a post to get more details for products featured online.”
“In just a few taps, customers can discover new products or get inspiration on what to buy, all tailored to their interests, and then shop for those items on Amazon,” Oliver Messenger, director of Amazon Shopping, said in a statement.
Messenger also said that Inspire is just the start of Amazon’s venture into social shopping, noting the company plans to roll out “more shoppable features, in-app functionality, and content, building an even more immersive shopping experience for customers.”
Amazon is the latest company to experiment with social shopping feeds in the hopes of cashing in on the popularity of TikTok’s business model. In September, Google announced a slate of new features aimed at young users who rely on TikTok as their preferred search engine.
Amazon had previously ventured into social shopping with the Spark programme, where users could tag products on their posts that are available on Amazon and anyone browsing the feeds can instantly find and purchase them on the platform.
The idea behind Amazon’s Inspire came from TikTok and a long-lived trend on the platform. Users often share their reviews of products that they try and tag them with the #Amazonfinds tag.
It should be noted that this isn’t the first time that Amazon is going to collaborate with influencers and content creators for their shopping app. Amazon’s shopping app currently features a lot of content from branches like tech, skincare and fashion from influencers and content creators specialing in those fields. These pieces of content don’t directly link to products that are shown in them but are rather a recommendation of sorts.
The Inspire feature will only be available on the Amazon Shopping app and feature content directly from eligible brands and creators who are a part of Amazon’s influencer program, according to its site.
