Now, you can read magazine articles on Amazon.in app
Amazon has introduced featured articles on its shopping app and website, in a bid to persuade users to stay longer on its platforms; the articles are mostly sourced from local publications
Even as the freshly-announced Tata Sons deal to acquire Big Basket promises to change the e-ecommerce space in India, Amazon has made a fresh online salvo. It has introduced featured articles on its shopping app.
The initiative, routed through a soft launch, is aimed at persuading users to stay longer on its shopping platforms, said a TechCrunch report.
Related news: Tata Group buys commanding stake in grocery major BigBasket
The Seattle-based e-commerce giant has quietly launched ‘Featured Articles’ on its shopping app (both iOS and Android) and website in India. On offer are feature articles, analyses and commentary on a variety of topics such as politics, entertainment, sports, business, finance, health, fitness, books and food, said the TechCrunch report.
The articles are mostly sourced from local publications, it added. The section is under the Kindle Store part of the app.
Amazon is now letting Indians read magazine articles in its shopping app: Amazon, in its ever-growing desire to become a super app in India, is testing showing articles on a wide-range of topics on its shopping app and site. https://t.co/VSjD68YDJU pic.twitter.com/KEtZbbETHv
— @PhuketDailyNews (@PhuketDailyNews) May 28, 2021
It quoted a company spokesperson as saying: “We remain focused on creating new and engaging experiences for our customers and as part of this endeavour, we have been testing a new service that brings articles on different topics like current affairs, books, business, entertainment, sports and lifestyle amongst others for readers.”
According to the website, some of the articles are ‘exclusively’ available on Amazon. Kindle users have also been receiving notifications on the article available.
In 2018, Amazon India had introduced select gadget reviews and ‘listicles’, sourced from local media houses.
Video-streaming service
Just a week before, the Amazon shopping app rolled out a free video streaming service called miniTV. The service offers ‘professionally’ created and curated content across web series, comedy shows, tech news, food, beauty, fashion and more, said media reports.
The service doesn’t require a subscription, but is supported by ads.
“With the launch of miniTV, the Amazon.in shopping app is now a single destination for customers to shop from millions of products, make payments and watch free entertainment videos,” Amazon said in a blogpost. Currently, the new video streaming service is only available for Android users. The iOS and mobile web versions will also be released in the coming months, it added.