One message, several shopping steps
On November 6, Amazon announced text messaging for Alexa for Shopping. Access starts with a small invited group of US customers, with a wider rollout planned in the following weeks. The assistant is intended to handle requests, compare products, build carts and complete purchases when asked.
The conversation carries across
Amazon says customers can look for a gift, send a photo or ask about an order. Requests are intended to carry over between text messages, the app, the website and supported Alexa devices. Everyday use will show how well that continuity works.
Why merchants should pay attention
A purchase request can begin in a conversation well before someone opens a store page. Merchants still need compelling products and dependable service. It also becomes more useful to make relevant product attributes, prices and delivery information accessible and keep them current for assistants.
One conversation can connect several tasks
Amazon gives examples including a weekly grocery order, finding a gift and asking about a delivery. A customer can state a need while the assistant searches for products and responds with options, according to the company. Before an order is placed, what the customer has actually authorised and which terms were shown still matter.
The interesting change is where the journey starts: a conversation on a phone can become a shopping surface. Whether someone continues in an app, on a website or in the conversation depends on the flow. Amazon says it is rolling out continuity between several of its own surfaces.
The same purchase across different surfaces
In When purchasing moves between interfaces, a traveller chooses a suitcase in chat and continues on another screen. The handoff is the important part: the selection and its terms need to travel with her so she does not have to start again.
Amazon’s text feature is a concrete example of an additional surface within its own service. It does not establish that any unrelated assistant can take over the same conversation. That distinction matters when merchants consider independent access and their own customer relationship.
I explored the idea of an interface responding to customer intent in “Frontends That Breathe”. A message is only one possible entry point. The useful test is whether the choices and actions fit the customer’s task.
What merchants can prepare
An assistant can only give dependable answers when product information and order status are accessible and current. Merchants can take common service questions and test whether an outsider can use the available information to find the right variant. Price, delivery promise and consent should also remain traceable. The article on Amazon Shop Direct looks at how external products become discoverable.
Source and further reading
Read the original announcement ↗