Amazon is testing a new feature called Inspire that resembles the popular social media platform TikTok – another sign that Amazon views social commerce as the future of online shopping. The retail giant has already integrated social media-like features into its website and mobile app, including Posts and Amazon Live. According to Amazon, Inspire is designed to make it easy to explore new products, discover ideas, and seamlessly shop content created by other customers, influencers, and brands.
What is Amazon Inspire?
Inspire is a new in-app feed that displays shoppable photos and videos. It enables customers to discover products based on their selected interests. Shoppers can personalize their feed by choosing from a list of available topics such as “Storage & Organization,” “Men’s Style,” and “Running.” The products featured in photos and videos are tagged on the screen. Customers can tap the product to learn more about it, access reviews, and add the item to their cart.
Customers will be able to access Inspire on Amazon’s iOS and Android apps. Inspire will roll out to select customers in the U.S. in December and will expand to the entire U.S. in the coming months. To see whether you have access to Inspire, open the Amazon Shopping app and look for the “light bulb” icon on the bottom navigation bar. This will take you to an Inspire page where you can select your interests and begin browsing content. If the icon is not there, Inspire is not yet available to you.
Amazon’s Presence on TikTok
It should not be surprising that Amazon is attempting to mimic TikTok, one of the fastest-growing social media platforms in the world. TikTok states it currently has more than 1 billion active monthly users. It is a popular social media platform for both Amazon influencers and sellers. Numerous hashtags show how TikTok helps people discover products on Amazon, such as #amazon (39.1B views), #amazonfinds (34.3B views), #amazonwishlist (429.1M views), #amazonfashion (3.2B views), #amazonseller (476.8M views), #amazonhaul (1.8B views), and #amazonbeauty (448.2M views).
Amazon is also highly active on TikTok. The ecommerce giant runs the following verified TikTok accounts that have accumulated billions of views:
- Amazon – 802.3K followers
- Amazomhome – 1.2M followers
- Amazonmusic – 1.7M followers
- Amazonfashion – 613.1K followers
- Primevideofr – 1.2M followers
- Amazonfresh – 289.6M followers
- Primestudent – 357.1K followers
How Brands Can Use Amazon Inspire
It is still unclear how much control brands will have over the content on Inspire. According to the platform, the photos used in a brand’s posts will be eligible to appear in Inspire.
As a reminder, Posts is an Instagram-like feature that delivers your brand story to relevant customers as they browse your categories on Amazon. Shoppers can discover product pages directly from your brand’s feed and click through your Posts to explore your listings. Posts appear on the Amazon app and the mobile web via your brand’s feed, on detail pages, in feeds for related products, and in category-based feeds. Posts can be a powerful way to:
- Share inspiring brand content
Posts help your brand reach in-market shoppers with imagery that highlights your brand story and values to inspire them to browse your content - Educate and drive product discovery
Posts help educate shoppers about different ways to use your products and encourage them to discover more of your offerings - Promote brand consistency
Posts help you maintain a consistent brand presence on Amazon by focusing on products, lifestyle content, and your brand’s message
Channel Key Takeaway:
Amazon values customer experience above all else. As a result, the company is always testing new features that may help improve the way shoppers discover, browse, and purchase products. With the beta launch of Inspire, Amazon is exploring ways to integrate social commerce into its platform. According to Statista, social commerce sales are expected to reach $45.74 billion in the U.S. in 2022 – with more than half of the country’s adults making a purchase on a social media platform. Whether or not Inspire becomes a permanent feature, Channel Key predicts Amazon will continue to evolve in ways that incorporate social media into the customer experience.
