Amazon is the latest technology company to take a page out of TikTok’s playbook. The e-commerce giant announced it is launching a new feed in the Amazon app featuring photos and videos of items for users to purchase, first reported by The Wall Street Journal.
The feed, which Amazon calls Inspire, is the company’s attempt to get app users to make purchases while seeing products in online content — something other tech companies are also trying to do. TikTok has long been working on its own in-app shopping features, including livestream shopping, and YouTube has added affiliate marketing and shopping to its TikTok copy, Shorts.
Inspire appears as a lightbulb icon in the Amazon app and will be rolling out to select US customers early this month. The company has also recruited influencers, the log reports, to produce videos for the feed, along with selections of brands and patrons, as it seems to align with social shopping. Amazon started testing Inspire with employees this summer, as reported this summer by the log.
Once on the Inspire tab, shoppers can choose from categories such as interior design, pets, and skin care, and browse content that includes and links to Amazon products. They can then purchase the items directly from the videos and photos.
Amazon is probably one of the few companies that could meaningfully challenge TikTok when it comes to consolidating product discovery and shopping under one roof. TikTok has already proven to be a powerful tool for boosting sales of everything from makeup to cleaning products. The challenge is getting users to make purchases through the condensed video app. Many viral TikToks feature products available on Amazon, and influencers often refer viewers back to their Amazon storefront to make purchases and earn a commission. It makes sense that Amazon would want to take back some of that user engagement.
But TikTok also plans to expand its business to become more like Amazon. Job postings posted this fall suggest the company is working on its own fulfillment centers in the US to partner with its retail functions. According to the vacancies, the company would provide storage and returns.
