January 26th, 2023
Amazon’s sales tactics are nothing short of inspirational. After all, in Q3 2022, their net sales increased 15% to reach a staggering $127.1 billion. The customer-centric platform continues to wow us with its innovation, rolling out the Amazon Inspire feature to eager shoppers with money to burn.
The Amazon Inspire program infuses the fun and fanfare of social media into the world of online shopping. The TikTok-esque photo and video feed allows consumers to shop products based on their interests, creating a customized experience that is equal parts business and pleasure. For ecommerce sellers, this provides an incredible opportunity worth exploring.
What is Amazon Inspire?
Amazon Inspire is a short-form video and image feed that shoppers can access directly from Amazon’s app. They can explore products based on their interests and shop from customer, brand, and influencer content that appeals to them.
Amazon Shopping’s tagline “More benefits. Fewer steps” is more accurate than ever. Unlike TikTok and YouTube, Amazon sellers can now market directly to shoppers that are already interested in products like theirs. With the “Add to Cart” perpetually hovering in clear view, this feature is sure to up the ante.
How to Use Amazon Inspire
Using Amazon Inspire is just about as easy as it gets. From the Amazon app, tap the "light bulb" icon on the bottom navigation bar. Select your interests from a wide range of pre-set categories such as skin care, running, or interior design. Once you’ve customized your settings, you can scroll through photos and videos provided by influencers, sellers, and other shoppers.
The products featured on Amazon Inspire are tagged on your screen. Shoppers can tap on any products they’re interested in to learn more, check out reviews, or add to cart. To access all of the reviews for a product, tap its thumbnail. To sum it up, anything you could possibly need to make a purchase is a tap away. Modern convenience at its finest.
Amazon Inspire is available to select customers on the Amazon mobile app for iOS and Android. If you don’t already have access to this feature, expect to see that lightbulb icon pop up on your screen within the coming months.
Custom Content
With Amazon Inspire, every feed is completely customized and unique. Once a user selects the categories they are interested in, relevant products will appear on their screen. They can like and save content that they want to view later or add to their wishlist. These interactions can help to customize their Amazon Inspire feed even further.
The vertical video feed presents a wide variety of influencer content. Shoppers can see products in use to gain a clearer understanding of their features and benefits. Amazon Inspire’s high-level algorithms ensure you the more you shop, like, and buy, the more customized your content will be.
The Wave of the Future
Social media is growing more and more popular by the day. In 2021, over 4.26 billion people were engaged in one or more social media platforms. This number is expected to increase to nearly six billion by 2027.
Converting ecommerce shopping into a form of entertainment yields almost limitless possibilities. Social media influencers have set the stage for this inevitable trend, promoting brands to eager consumers all over the world.
With the Amazon Inspire program, influencers can gain even more visibility while making commissions on these sales. They can quickly upload vertical, fullscreen images and short videos or repurpose their existing content for Amazon shoppers.
Who Can Post to the Amazon Inspire Feed?
Creating content for Amazon Inspire is convenient and beneficial for shoppers, sellers, and influencers alike. Customer product reviews and influencer content that includes photos or videos is fair game for this new feature. The customer reviews that appear in Amazon Inspire are random. Amazon states that deleting your review is the only way to prevent your content from being shown.
Any seller enrolled in Brand Registry with an active Brand Store that has photos and videos uploaded to Amazon Posts may be eligible to appear in Inspire.
If you’re not already familiar, Amazon Posts is a free way to upload visual content that promotes products, deals, and featured items. If you don’t already have an Amazon Posts account, you may want to take advantage of this opportunity.
Amazon Inspire for Sellers
Creating visual content while fulfilling orders and promoting products may sound like a lot of work, but the potential benefits are awfully intriguing. If you haven’t already developed an arsenal of high-quality content, this may be your cue. Let’s break down the advantages:
Snag New Customers
On the Amazon Inspire feed, your products will be shown to shoppers that may not stumble on your brand otherwise. These potential customers are already interested in your product category and may be more compelled to make a purchase.
Promote Products and Deals
Are you rolling out a new product or offering a great price in a competitive category? This is your opportunity to shine. With more eyes on your content, sellers can use Amazon Inspire to show shoppers why their products are beneficial to them.
Increase Conversions
Converting shopping into a form of entertainment, this Amazon Tiktok-style feature makes it easy to view your products, peruse reviews, and hit “Add to Cart” in record time. This can add to your credibility and help shoppers make an informed decision about whether your product is right for them.
Create and Share High-Quality Content
The Amazon Inspire feed gives you an opportunity to create and share visual content that entices shoppers. The average consumer uses photos and video during the later stages of their buying cycle to make a decision about a product. Amazon Inspire presents this valuable content upfront, which can potentially increase sales.
Improve the Customer Experience
The modern shopper demands convenience. If it’s not easy to learn about your products, read reviews, or check out quickly, you could lose interested customers. With Amazon Inspire, learning about your products and completing a sale is easier than ever. Your content is bold, upfront, and visually appealing.
Final Thoughts
Amazon Inspire’s success is yet to be determined. While their previous attempts at social shopping such as Amazon Stream and Amazon Spark have yielded lackluster results, the Amazon Inspire program certainly utilizes some popular principles. With a focus on convenience and customer satisfaction, this feature takes Amazon’s most beloved benefits to the next level.
Is Amazon Inspire right for your business? It never hurts to expand your visual content and take advantage of opportunities for growth. After all, the world’s most successful platform has dominated the ecommerce world and continues to find new ways to make shopping fun. And who doesn’t need a little more fun in their lives?
If you’re interested in Amazon Inspire and other opportunities for growth, we’re here to help! Our experts work with clients in a wide range of industries to develop creative content, boost sales, and reduce your workload. Learn more by scheduling a free consultation with us today.