Amazon makes it easier to buy what you see on Prime Video
Amazon is expanding shopping features across Prime Video so viewers can discover products tied to thousands of shows, movies and live sports. The updates add a Shop tab to the existing X-Ray experience and introduce a new Lens-powered “Shop the Scene” visual-search feature that links to product listings in the Amazon Shopping app.
Why It Matters
Streaming platforms are increasingly embedding commerce into viewing experiences as an additional revenue stream; Amazon’s changes make in-player and second-screen product discovery more prominent and easier to access, joining similar moves by other services. The update also scales up an existing feature—Shop the Show—from a limited pilot into a much larger offering across Prime Video content.
Key Facts
- New X-Ray Shop tab: Accessible by pausing video and pressing up on the Fire TV remote; showcases products related to what’s playing.
- Shop the Scene availability: Live on iOS and Android in the U.S.; works with more than 600 titles.
- Shop the Show expansion: Expanding from 1,300 titles to more than 8,000 in the U.S., including Prime Originals, select licensed titles, and live sports.
- How purchases are made: Amazon Shopping app recognizes what’s playing and opens a synced product feed for browsing and buying.
- Shop the Scene technology: Uses Amazon Lens visual search to identify items in a scene and suggest similar products; may not produce exact matches.
Amazon is bolstering the shopping integrations available to Prime Video viewers by extending product discovery into the streaming experience. The company added a Shop tab to its X-Ray feature and rolled out a new “Shop the Scene” capability that uses Amazon Lens visual search to surface items tied to what appears on screen. To access product recommendations from a TV, viewers can pause playback and press up on a Fire TV remote to open X-Ray, then select the Shop tab to see items related to the current title. When users choose to buy something, the flow moves them into the Amazon Shopping app, which detects the playing title and drops the shopper into a feed synced to that moment in the show or movie. Amazon also improved the second-screen path introduced last year: rather than typing a “shop the show” search, users now simply open the Amazon Shopping app while watching and are taken to a storefront for that title. Within the app, tapping an image activates Amazon Lens to identify clothing, decor and other items in the scene and surface similar products—though Amazon notes the tool won’t always find exact matches for costumes or high-end pieces. The company says the Shop the Scene feature is available now on iOS and Android in the U.S. for more than 600 titles. The broader Shop the Show experience is being expanded from roughly 1,300 titles to over 8,000 U.S. titles, covering Prime Originals, select licensed favorites and live sports. Amazon’s move places it alongside other platforms that have added shopping features to streaming, including YouTube, Peacock, Roku and experiments at Disney’s streaming services.
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Original source: TechCrunch