Amazon will now be sending shoppers straight to a brand’s website when it doesn’t stock their products

(Image credit: Amazon)

Some Amazon Shopping app users are being redirected to other sellers’ websites
Some external sellers will still work with ‘Buy with Prime’
More US customers could get the feature soon

Despite being the go-to ecommerce platform for millions worldwide, there are times that Amazon might not have stock of a certain product in its warehouses, but it has now thought up a new way of dealing with the resulting lost custom.

The company is testing a new feature in its shopping app that redirects users to other brands’ websites if it doesn’t have that particular product in stock.

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In a blog post, Amazon wrote: “We’ll show select products in our search results even if we don’t sell them in our store, and link to the brand’s website to make it easy for customers to purchase them there.”

Amazon will redirect shoppers to other brands’ sites

In its announcement, the Seattle giant boasted of the more than 300 million items it carries that are available with fast, free Prime delivery, and the hundreds of millions of products it sells in total.

“We’re testing bringing more selection and brands into our search results to help customers find even more of what they want and further improve our shopping experience for customers," said Rajiv Mehta, Amazon’s VP of search and conversational shopping.

Amazon highlighted that, if a brand has ‘Buy with Prime’ enabled, they will still be able to benefit from the associated benefits, such as 24/7 customer support and speedy delivery.

Mehta added: “We’re always experimenting with new ways to make it easier for customers to find products they want and need when they search in the Amazon Shopping app.”

The upgraded feature is currently being tested with an undisclosed “subset of US customers” using the Amazon Shopping app on iOS and Android, but there’s no word on a wider rollout. The company added: “We’ll roll out to more US customers and incorporate more brands based on feedback.”

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With several years’ experience freelancing in tech and automotive circles, Craig’s specific interests lie in technology that is designed to better our lives, including AI and ML, productivity aids, and smart fitness. He is also passionate about cars and the decarbonisation of personal transportation. As an avid bargain-hunter, you can be sure that any deal Craig finds is top value!