Snapchat wants to rule over e-commerce, and a new partnership with Amazon could well be THE thing to help it do so.
Snapchat and Amazon have announced a partnership for a “visual search” tool that lets people use Snapchat’s camera app to find real-life items within Amazon’s inventory. Snapchat has seen several big successes with shopping lately, but this time, things are different.
The idea is to turn the camera into a visual search tool that recognizes real-life objects or barcodes and link them to products available on Amazon. When that happens, an Amazon card will appear, and users will be able to shop with only a few taps.
The visual search tool is already available to a select number of users today, but Snap did not comment on whether it will expand the test, nor on how many Amazon products are actually available for now.
Some brands have already jumped at the opportunity and partnered for the launch of the new tool. One of them is Under Armour with its HOVR shoe.
After Shoppable Snaps and several high-visibility shopping campaigns, Snapchat is making sure it keeps its stronghold on social e-commerce. Take that Instagram. You may have Facebook, but you don’t (yet) have Amazon on your side.
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