Within the wake of TikTok, Amazon joins the billionaire dance of social commerce

Amazon is rolling out a TikTok-like feature on its app that will allow customers to purchase products from a feed personalized photos and videos. Called Inspire, the functionality is being tested by a small group of customers in the United States and will be rolled out across the country in the coming months.🇧🇷

With the new step, anticipated in a report by the The Wall Street JournalAmazon joins the bandwagon, joining Facebook parent Meta, Google and other peers in trying to capitalize on the popularity of the short video format that fueled the rise of TikTok, created in China by ByteDance.

The format in question consolidated a new sales model, better known in the market as social commerce, which unites online shopping and social experiences.

In the case of Amazon, the Inspire tab will appear as a lightbulb icon at the bottom of the Amazon app. The icon will take you to a feed that displays a stream of product images and videos that shoppers can “like” and purchase.

In addition to viewing item descriptions, the customer will be able to customize their feed with more than 20 theme options, including makeup, skin care, pets, games, plants, hiking, interior design, travel and running.

Inspire will also allow consumers to purchase products showcased by other customers, influencers and brands. While focused on shopping, the feature could expand on fronts like options for sharing content and trends.

The entry of Amazon, the largest e-commerce company in the world, into this space was already expected, especially given the figures that are already being generated through this format.

In 2021, global social commerce sales totaled $492 billion, according to a study by Accenture. The consultancy also predicts that the segment will move US$ 1.2 trillion in 2025.

With the launch, Amazon opens a new path to try to reverse the bad impression left by the numbers reported in the third quarter of this year. In the period, the company’s net profit retreated 9%, to US$ 2.8 billion.

Between July and September, net income was US$ 127.1 billion. Despite the 14% increase over the same period, a year earlier, the amount was below analysts’ estimates, which pointed to a range of US$ 148 billion.

In the wake of the balance sheet, in early November, for the first time in two years, Amazon dropped out of the select club of companies valued at more than $1 trillion. Currently, the company is valued at US$ 921.7 billion and its shares have accumulated a devaluation close to 46%.

The company is not the only technology giant to follow in the footsteps of the short video craze launched by TikTok and to bet on a new pace of growth from the combination of social experiences with online shopping.

In September 2020, Google’s YouTube began testing its short video platform in India, called shorts. A year later, the tool began to gain scale as it was expanded to the United States and other markets.

At Meta, in turn, the response to this trend spread by TikTok came through Reels, an Instagram feature. But so far, this move has shown little effect on the platform.

Source: Neofeed