Amazons Echo Will Now Pick Your Shopping For You

amazon echoAmazons combination personal assistant and speaker Echo has been adding features since it was first launched, recently integrating smart home hub capabilities. Now, the device will be able to pick out your shopping for you, with the companys new Amazons Choice feature.

The service, rolled out last week, comes with the latest update for the speaker, which enables users to order goods simply by saying them aloud. The feature essentially turns over some of the decision-making in shopping to Amazon, which the user can either agree with or choose to keep searching.

If a user makes a purchase from a particular category they have not ordered from before, Amazon will recommend a particular brand from its Amazons Choice program, for example offering Persil rather than Bold or Ariel that first time a person buys washing detergent.

Users are free to ignore the recommendation and carry on searching, and if they have previously ordered Ariel, Amazon will assume they wish to restock with their existing brand, but given the voice-based interaction that Echo offers, many shoppers may elect to go with the first offered choice rather than struggle on with navigation.

“This feature eliminates the product searching and selecting for customers, and lets us do the work for them,” said an Amazon spokesperson. “Amazons Choice offers are selected with a variety of factors in mind, ranging from rating to shipping speed.”

Amazon will not be charging brands to be part of the scheme, but it is easy to imagine that many will seek to adjust their product offerings to improve their standing in the ranks, especially if the Amazons Choice feature is extended to other parts of the companys ecosystem.