Jeff Bezos had a big week
Jeff Bezos had a biiiiig week.
First, they quietly launched Amazon Scout, a Pinterest competitor powered by machine learning to help you discover (and purchase) your next favorite product based on what you 👍 and 👎.
Right now, most everybody visits Amazon with specific intent to purchase something – AA batteries, new socks, or maybe a case of LaCroix. But nobody browses Amazon just for fun. Their next big opportunity is window shopping, encouraging consumers to discover and buy things they weren’t necessarily looking for.
Pinterest started with this use case (of course, broadly focused on imagery but a large portion of pins are product-specific) and are now attempting to close the loop with buyable pins.
This isn't the first attempt to create a browsing experience by Amazon. They launched Interesting Finds and Launchpad a few years ago. We'll have to wait and see if Amazon Scout is as sticky as Pinterest, which pulls users back into the site with friends, messages, and notifications.
Next... Amazon launched a ton of new Alexa devices. The first, an Alexa-integrated subwoofer called the Echo Sub, is an attempt bolster the audio quality of the Amazon Echo, which some say can sound a bit "thin." Just like a Sonos system (which launched their developer platform a few weeks ago) or Apple's HomePod, the new Echo Sub can pair with up to 2 different Echos.
They also launched an AmazonBasics Microwave that has Alexa built-in, an Echo Auto designed to sit in your car, the new Echo Dot, Echo Plus, Echo Show, and a new Echo Input mic that turns literally any speaker into an Alexa-enabled device.
First, they quietly launched Amazon Scout, a Pinterest competitor powered by machine learning to help you discover (and purchase) your next favorite product based on what you 👍 and 👎.
Right now, most everybody visits Amazon with specific intent to purchase something – AA batteries, new socks, or maybe a case of LaCroix. But nobody browses Amazon just for fun. Their next big opportunity is window shopping, encouraging consumers to discover and buy things they weren’t necessarily looking for.
Pinterest started with this use case (of course, broadly focused on imagery but a large portion of pins are product-specific) and are now attempting to close the loop with buyable pins.
This isn't the first attempt to create a browsing experience by Amazon. They launched Interesting Finds and Launchpad a few years ago. We'll have to wait and see if Amazon Scout is as sticky as Pinterest, which pulls users back into the site with friends, messages, and notifications.
Next... Amazon launched a ton of new Alexa devices. The first, an Alexa-integrated subwoofer called the Echo Sub, is an attempt bolster the audio quality of the Amazon Echo, which some say can sound a bit "thin." Just like a Sonos system (which launched their developer platform a few weeks ago) or Apple's HomePod, the new Echo Sub can pair with up to 2 different Echos.
They also launched an AmazonBasics Microwave that has Alexa built-in, an Echo Auto designed to sit in your car, the new Echo Dot, Echo Plus, Echo Show, and a new Echo Input mic that turns literally any speaker into an Alexa-enabled device.
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