Amazon in turn decides to copy TikTok with its new Inspire function which will display an uninterrupted stream of short videos presenting products. A way to arouse desire and encourage consumption even more…
After YouTube and Instagram, it’s Amazon’s turn to try to copy the success of TikTok! The e-commerce giant is eyeing the Chinese social network to boost its sales and presents a new tool called Inspire. It allows users to make purchases – and above all to find the desire to buy – from a personalized feed of photos and short videos featuring the products, which uses the codes of the popular Chinese application. Amazon hasn’t been shy about recruiting influencers to power it, but brands and shoppers will also be able to participate. The products offered are very varied, ranging from decorative items to clothing, books and make-up. An approach that could further strengthen the company’s weight in the e-commerce market.
Amazon Inspire: when buying becomes a hobby
Inspire takes the form of a special tab in the Amazon Shopping app. Once there, the user is invited to choose different categories such as makeup, pets, sports or even tech in order to personalize their profile and be directed to content that will interest them – and that he will therefore be likely to buy directly from the content that appears on the feed. By the way, to scroll it, just “swipe” – sweep the screen from bottom to top with your finger. Buttons like the like are on the right of the screen.
Inspire’s goal is to make “easy and fun shopping“, explains the director of Amazon Shopping Oliver Messenger to the Walt Street Journal. “With just a few clicks, customers can discover new products or find inspiration on what to buy, all tailored to their interests, then acquire those items on Amazon.“. An initiative that poses a bit of a problem from an ethical point of view, since, under the guise of better adapting to the user – or rather the client -, it encourages him to go to the platform no longer to buy an object that he needs – or so the perpetual advertisements make him believe that he needs – but for the simple pleasure and desire to buy…
Amazon Inspire: between social networks and online merchants
At the moment, only a handful of carefully selected US customers have access to Amazon Inspire, but the entire territory should be entitled to it next month, for both Android devices and those running iOS. It would not be surprising if the new tool were to arrive in the coming months in other markets, including France, since the United States often acts as a “test” for new products.
In any case, Amazon’s new tool attacks TikTok on its own ground. Indeed, the Chinese application is a perfect platform for introducing users to products. Many influencers use it – as well as other platforms like Instagram – to promote products offered by Amazon, by putting affiliate links – which allow them to receive a commission for all purchases made on the store. online – in the description or directly in the video. TikTok is very good at creating a desire to buy, but not at making an actual purchase.
