Amazon is a go-to retailer for many users, but if you’re shopping for Apple devices, you’ll only find certain products for sale. Soon, that may change—sort of—thanks to a new Amazon test.
New Amazon feature shows products from third-party retailers and link to them
Sarah Perez writes for TechCrunch:
Remember that Christmas movie “Miracle on 34th Street,” where Macy’s in-store Santa, Kris Kringle, sends a frazzled shopper to a competitor’s store to find the Christmas present her son wanted because Macy’s was out of stock? Now Amazon is doing the same thing online. The retailer announced on Tuesday the test of a new Amazon Shopping feature that will redirect shoppers to other brands’ websites if they search in the app for a particular product that Amazon doesn’t carry.
I really love this idea (and its film inspiration).
Amazon currently meets a lot of my shopping needs. So much so that when I’m looking to buy something, rather than using Google to search (actually DuckDuckGo for me), I head straight to Amazon.
It’s always disorienting when I search for a product on Amazon and find no relevant results—only competitors seeking to win my business.
I’m sure this happens a lot with Apple products too.
Apple only sells certain products through Amazon—notable exemptions include new iPhones and HomePods. So shoppers are forced to buy through the online Apple Store or another retail partner instead.
Now though, for users included in this Amazon test, the full Apple product lineup might start showing up in searches with direct links to the Apple Store.
Per TechCrunch, “When customers click links, they will be notified via a pop-up message saying ‘You’re leaving Amazon,’ so they’re not confused about where they’re shopping from.”
Even though this sounds like a great change to me, I could also see it being potentially confusing for users who don’t understand why they’re being sent to another site. Its success likely hinges a lot on the implementation details.
What do you think of this Amazon change? Is it a positive or negative for you? Let us know in the comments.
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