Amazon’s massive inventory of products can be overwhelming, and more stuff gets added each day. The online retail giant has rolled out some changes to its search capabilities to make shopping less daunting.
The new search features will let you combine images and text to narrow down what you’re looking for. If you know what an item looks like, but can’t think of its name, you can tap the camera icon in the search bar and take a photo, letting Amazon’s visual search algorithm do the work. You can also add text to your visual searches. After you take a photo, you’ll see a thumbnail of your image in the search bar. Tap “Add Text” next to the thumbnail to include any information that will help the search.
The new features are an attempt to address some of the challenges facing Amazon shoppers, who already deal with issues like copycat products and fake reviews. It’s an issue that even more people will face as online shopping continues to grow into the primary way we purchase things. Retail e-commerce sales are forecast to grow by nearly 11% between 2023 and 2027, according to Statista.
As a result, retailers are working to make the shopping experience as easy as possible, especially on the mobile side.
“We are always testing new features and honing existing ones to see what works best to help customers in every phase of their shopping journey,” Llew Mason, Amazon’s vice president of shopping, said in a statement.
Don’t worry if all of these features aren’t immediately available to you, it usually takes some time to roll out app updates.
Amazon’s View in Your Room feature has been around for a while, but it has a few extra bells and whistles now. The feature now includes tabletop items like lamps, home decor and small appliances like toasters and coffee makers.
You’ll also be able to see sales trend data when you’re shopping. When you click on a listing, you can see how many items have sold in the last month as well as how many times the item has been viewed.
The Find-On-Amazon feature will make it easier to search Amazon for items you find other places, like Pinterest. Amazon said if you spot a product online, tap the “Share” button and choose the Amazon Shopping app. Open the app and click “Find Products on Amazon.” This will give you a selection of similar products.
Lastly, when you find something you like, you might want to order more. Amazon will now show items you’ve previously purchased and the date you bought it at the top of search results. Frequently reordered items will also get a thumbnail image in the search bar.