Amazon is shutting down “Encourage,” its TikTok-like, short-form video and photograph feed that was beforehand out there in its cell app. The feed allowed customers to find merchandise and store from content material created by influencers, manufacturers, and different prospects.
An organization spokesperson confirmed the transfer to TechCrunch, saying, “We repeatedly consider varied options to raised align with what prospects inform us issues most, and as a part of that, Encourage is not out there.”
It’s an attention-grabbing time to close down a function that carefully mirrored TikTok, particularly because the ByteDance-owned platform faces uncertainty in the U.S. Encourage may have served in its place for American customers searching for product critiques from TikTokers.
Nonetheless, Amazon has made inroads on different social channels, lessening the necessity for its personal brief video function. As an illustration, it partnered with Instagram in November 2023 to make it simpler to buy its retail web site straight contained in the Meta-owned app. Across the identical time, it additionally teamed up with Snap to let customers purchase its merchandise from social advertisements.
Encourage was initially launched in 2022 amid the gradual rise of social commerce.
Nonetheless, the function sparked controversy in August 2023 when Amazon tried to draw creators to the function by inviting select influencers to submit videos. The corporate provided $12,500 for a most of 500 movies or $25 for every qualifying video. Nonetheless, many creators felt that this compensation was too low.
One other attainable purpose for Encourage’s shutdown is that not sufficient creators had been publishing content material, as they may earn extra income on different platforms.
Whereas the corporate spokesperson didn’t additional clarify the reasoning behind the shutdown, they identified the opposite methods wherein Amazon prospects may nonetheless get inspiration, together with from Amazon’s creator storefronts, curated collections, and extra.
Additionally they talked about its new AI options like its purchasing assistant, Rufus, which launched final yr.
“Past Amazon, we all know that prospects search for inspiration and product suggestions in social feeds, and we’re innovating to make purchasing for Amazon merchandise extra pleasurable via seamless social media integrations,” the spokesperson added.
Notably, Amazon is testing a new feature that redirects shoppers to different manufacturers’ web sites in the event that they seek for a product not out there on Amazon.
About The Author
