Amazon is looking to diversify its role within the e-commerce landscape and is testing a new feature within its app that enables users to discover products from other brands. This feature invites shoppers to exit the Amazon platform and purchase items directly from the brand’s website, despite Amazon not stocking those products.

The company announced, “We’re currently testing a fresh shopping experience where select items will appear in our search results even if they aren’t available for purchase on Amazon,” as stated in a recent blog post from the company. A demonstration of the feature suggests that these items will be grouped under a banner labeled “Shop brand sites directly,” showcasing an image along with pricing information. Upon clicking one of these products, users will receive a notification indicating they’re transitioning away from Amazon, and clicking “continue” will redirect them to the respective brand’s site to finalize their purchase.

For Amazon Prime members, there’s potential to leverage delivery and return advantages, assuming the brand is affiliated with the Buy with Prime initiative while they navigate the other website.

The reasons behind Amazon’s decision to redirect customers to its competitors remain somewhat ambiguous; however, a company spokesperson clarified via email that this strategy is merely an experimental approach and does not generate affiliate income for Amazon.

One possible motivation for this change might be to keep pace with Google Shopping, which currently provides users with multiple purchasing links from various retailers for a single product, often featuring varied promotions and reviews. Discerning shoppers can leverage Google Search as a means to bypass Amazon, potentially finding better shopping options.

By incorporating links to alternative retailers, Amazon can evolve beyond being simply an e-commerce leader to becoming a comprehensive shopping search platform in its own right. This shift could encourage consumers to remain within the Amazon ecosystem or actively engage with it at various stages of their shopping journey. An analogy could be drawn to a dining establishment like McDonald’s in an amusement park, where the park management might forfeit some earnings, but they retain visitors on-site rather than allowing them to venture off for meals elsewhere.

Despite the strategic reasoning, this alteration may lead to confusion among users regarding the origin of their purchases, even with on-screen warnings indicating when they are exiting the Amazon site. Currently, it appears that Amazon is implementing this feature in a somewhat arbitrary fashion, as there isn’t a clear way for users to opt into or out of it. As of now, it’s operational for a limited group of U.S. customers using the Amazon Shopping app on both iOS and Android, with plans to expand access shortly. If you prefer to sidestep this update, it seems to be confined to the mobile application, so shopping via a web browser remains a viable option without encountering this new feature.