While browsing Amazon today, I noticed that new items were receiving a more eye-catching image enticing one to look inside. In this case, it was a book with a little 3D movement to it when you moused over it. The book will tilt and visually flip to the back cover. You can then click the image to get to the usual Amazon Look Inside feature. I captured this in the video below.
In addition, Amazon introduced “Collections” recently. You will notice an ‘Add to Collection’ button under the product image.
The first time you click the ‘Add to Collection’ button, you will be greeted by a popup layer allowing you to choose which Collection you would like to add this to and an option description for the item. By default, you start off with ‘My Style’, ‘Possibilities’, and ‘Want List’ collections but you can create others. The next time you click the Add to Collection button, the interface does away with the image above.
Collections are accessible from the ‘Your Account’ menu. Just go to ‘Your Account’ -> ‘Your Collections’. You can browse your collections and keep them organized that way similar to how Amazon’s Wish List feature works. Going beyond just the Wish List though, Collections work a lot like Pinterest does with the items you curate open to the public. All of these ‘collected’ items flow into a river that you can browse to see what other cool things people are finding on Amazon. You can filter the river by books, movies, music, men’s fashion, women’s fashion, featured, and people you follow.
If you like window shopping on Amazon, this changes the window into a television with infinite scroll and a visually enticing way to find new products. Similar to Pinterest, you can add items to your own collections by clicking the + Collect button, or you can also just “Like” the entry.
I used to use Amazon’s Wish List to keep track of books I wanted to read. I then moved my list to GoodReads, which Amazon has since bought. I’m not sure the collections are mutually exclusive, I might be able to use my collections to track things that I want to purchase at some point but continue to use GoodReads to collect all books. I will have to explore it a little more to see its full potential or if it’s just a way for Amazon to get its customers to do its marketing for them.