New Amazon Feature to Help ‘Buy Again’

Amazon tested a new feature on the app intended to encourage users in making repeat purchases, said the Wall Street Journal.

The feature is a ‘Buy Again’ feed and is located on the home page of the app. The tab uses a customer’s order history to make purchase recommendations in various categories, including groceries or electronics.

The tests involved moving the Buy Again option to a more prominent location on the app and would include search and filter options, in addition to a ‘Discover’ section with personalized recommendations based on order history, analysts said.

After experiencing less growth in Prime membership and less spending from users, Amazon is looking to drive customers into making repeat purchases or encourage subscription-based ordering through the ‘Subscribe & Save’ feature, reported the Journal.

Amazon has tried various ways of encouraging repeat orders in the past, according to the Wall Street Journal. Its Alexa assistant notifies some customers of potential order options based on past orders.

Dan Buchuk, a researcher at Watchful Technologies, said that making the subscription service more prominent could be another way to immerse Amazon into users’ lives, reported the Journal.

“In the current climate when people have less disposable income, the question becomes, ‘How do we increase revenue?’” Buchuk said. “We all have a purchase history with Amazon that is really useful to [the company]. And those subscriptions that can reoccur, that’s a trend not just for Amazon but for companies as a whole.”

As of now, it is unclear if Amazon will make the tab available for all customers or how the feature may change before launching.