Amazon is testing an in-app feature that will show users photos and videos of products in the style of the popular social network TikTok, which customers can share with other users, The Wall Street Journal reported. The test is currently visible to a small number of Amazon members, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The global company joins other big tech companies, such as Meta Platform and Alphabet, Google’s parent company, that are trying to boost engagement through short videos and endless content.
The portal, which is being tested under the internal name “Inspire,” appears as a diamond-shaped widget on the app’s homepage, according to an Israel-based artificial intelligence firm that has tracked usage of the feature. The widget directs shoppers to a feed that displays a stream of images and videos of products shoppers can like, share and even buy them. While most of the feed now appears in the form of still photos, the Israel researchers said the portal also includes video content that almost identically copies the famous social network.
An Amazon spokeswoman said the company is “constantly testing new features to make it easier for users and to keep the time spent on the app as interactive as possible.”
Amazon often experiments with new products and services for its employees before releasing them to the public. The company may change the “Inspire” feature significantly before releasing it publicly, or not release it at all.