Despite what it looks like, Amazon doesn’t sell everything. To fix that, the company is beta testing a new shopping feature that will include products it doesn’t sell in search results on its app and then send you to the brand’s website so you can buy them.
In a blog post published this week, Amazon announced that this new feature, “Buy products directly from brand sites,” is currently in beta testing on its shopping app. “When customers who have access to the beta search for a brand and/or product, we’ll show matching items found in the Amazon store, as well as select items we don’t carry but that are available directly from another brand’s website,” the company said. By clicking on the product, you will be redirected to the brand’s website (with a pop-up notification that you are leaving Amazon), where you can purchase the product directly.
It is not yet clear whether Amazon will receive a cut of this purchase, and the company has not announced which brands are participating in the beta. However, if the brand uses the Buy With Prime option, which Amazon launched a few years ago, you can take advantage of Prime benefits – such as free shipping – in an external store.
Amazon vice president Rajeev Mehta said that the new feature is designed to expand the selection and “make shopping even more convenient for customers.” The ability to make purchases directly from the brand’s website is currently only available to some US customers in the Amazon Shopping app on iOS and Android. Amazon says it plans to expand this feature to more users and include more brands based on feedback from the beta test.
