Amazon's Newest Feature Lets You Skip The Reviews And Poll Your Friends On What To Buy

Amazon has been on a feature addition spree of late, with the recent expansion of its Amazon Prime Air drone delivery services to more areas and countries. The e-commerce giant, however, seems to be in no mood to rest, as it has just announced the launch of a new collaborative shopping feature called "Consult-a-Friend" for Amazon users in select countries globally.

As evident from the name, the purpose of this feature is to let users share products listed on Amazon with friends and family and get quick feedback about them, all without ever having to leave the Amazon app. Given how frequently people reach out to friends and family for shopping advice—and use Amazon's share button to do the same—the company felt it would be better to have an in-house product feedback platform to cater to this demand.

In the blog post announcing the launch of this interesting feature, Amazon confirmed that the "Consult-a-Friend" feature is currently being tested out with select users across the U.S., Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Sweden, Turkey, U.A.E., and the U.K.

Using "Consult-a-Friend" is not too different from the current method of using the share button within the Amazon app. Once on the desired product listing, all the user needs to do is tap the "Share" button. New users would be required to toggle the "Ask for your friends' votes" button from the default off position to on. Once this step is completed, users will be presented with various sharing options. From there, it's just a matter of choosing their preferred messaging app and selecting the recipients before sending them a "Consult-a-Friend" link.

Once friends and family members receive the message and click on the link, they will be directed to a page on the Amazon app on their phones. This page will have options to add a quick comment about the product and will also allow them to add quick emojis or reactions. With feedback from enough friends and family, users will have a better idea about their selection, gauged through both emoji reactions and any comments they provide.

Amazon

Besides helping users narrow down their choices, the "Consult-a-Friend" feature could also help them avoid impulse purchases. Additionally, if the products they choose happen to be ones already used by friends, they will better understand the product before making a purchase decision.

Besides the "Consult-a-Friend" feature, Amazon also used its blog post to talk about the "Inspire" feature, which was launched earlier in 2023. This tool essentially allows users to create content centered around products listed on Amazon. Unlike "Consult-a-Friend," however, Amazon Inspire is currently available only to users in the U.S.