Amazon Adds Personalized Recommendations to Shopping App | PYMNTS.com

Amazon says it is adding more personalization features with the updates to its Shopping app.

“Personalization helps customers find what they’re looking for faster, and surfaces other relevant products that align with their interests based on previous shopping behaviors like recent purchases and browsing history,” the eCommerce giant wrote in a recent blog post. 

For instance, if a customer recently purchased a new comforter, the homepage might feature matching sheets and pillows. The homepage will also showcase trending products, new releases, bestsellers and deals based on customers’ interests and preferences.

Other updates include a new “Window Display,” improved product groupings, and horizontal scrolling. Window Display — found at the top of the homepage — offers customers personalized recommendations whether they are resuming a previous visit or looking for something new.

In addition, Amazon says it has improved its Buy Again hub on its homepage, letting customers save time on repeat purchases.

“The Buy Again hub consolidates frequently purchased items into one location, making it even more convenient to complete common shopping tasks,” the company wrote. “With a single tap, customers can quickly add to their go-to products and discover complementary items.”

The changes come weeks after Amazon announced it was expanding its use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) with the launch of AI Shopping Guides on its U.S. apps and mobile site.

“Guides help you reduce the time spent researching before you make a purchase by proactively consolidating key information you need alongside a relevant selection of products, making it easier to find the right product for your needs quickly,” wrote Daniel Lloyd, the company’s vice president of personalization.

These guides, which include more than 100 product categories, are  to simplify the product research process by compiling essential information and recommendations in one place. With the help of large language models, the system spots product attributes, features and customer insights to generate tailored guides and product suggestions.

Consumers have mixed feelings about AI, with research from the PYMNTS Intelligence study “Generation Zillennial: Voice Assistants and GenAI” showing that more than half of all consumers (53%) feel that GenAI is “very open to misuse.”

At the same time, consumers also want the kind of personalized experiences that GenAI makes possible. Data from the March edition of the “Payments Orchestration Tracker®,” a PYMNTS Intelligence and Spreedly collaboration, showed that 85% of consumers say that their favorite companies treat them like individuals.