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- Amazon’s New AI Agent Will Shop Third-Party Sites For You 🤖
Amazon’s New AI Agent Will Shop Third-Party Sites For You 🤖
Plus: Perplexity partners with firmly.ai for agentic commerce 🚀, while the tariff tension is now getting real 🚢!
Agentic AI might still feel like shiny new toys, but give it a few years, and they’ll be running the show 🦾. In ecommerce? They’re already suiting up.
Hi there, and welcome to another issue of The Ecom Press 🗞️!
Amazon isn’t just dipping its toes in AI; they’re cannonballing 💥. Last week, it was news about letting customers shop using simple prompts. Now? Their AI agent is buying products for users from other websites. Meanwhile, Perplexity is leveling up too, partnering with a new agentic AI to bring native checkout straight into its answers.
Oh, and those Trump-era tariffs? They’re not just headlines anymore; they’re hitting prices and shopper behavior in real time 😬.
Lots to break down, already. Let’s dive in ⚡️!
In a rush? Here's the juice🤭:
🤖 Amazon’s new AI agent will shop third-party sites for you.
🚀 Perplexity partners with firmly.ai for agentic commerce.
🚢 The tariff tension is now getting real
📚 Case Study: How Live Chat Took Ad Hoc Atelier from “Meh” to Magnifico
⚡️Worthy Mentions
Source: Amazon
Amazon is testing a new feature called “Buy for Me” feature, which lets customers buy products from third-party brand websites, directly through the Amazon app, even when those products aren’t available on Amazon itself.
This AI-driven tool is currently in beta for select U.S. users on iOS and Android, and is powered by Amazon’s own Nova AI and Anthropic’s Claude model. This aims at keeping customers on Amazon, even if the checkout happens elsewhere.
Here’s the lowdown ⬇️:
🛍️ What it is: Buy for Me helps customers complete purchases from third-party brand websites inside the Amazon Shopping app. This is Amazon’s response to the rising threat of AI shopping agents (think OpenAI’s ChatGPT shopping tools or Google’s Vision Match) by turning its own app into the launchpad for all ecommerce activity.
⚙️ How it works:
When users search for a brand, they’ll see a section labeled “Shop brand sites directly.”
Tap a product marked “Buy for Me” to view a product page within the Amazon app.
Tap the button again and Amazon’s AI will complete the checkout on the brand’s site, using encrypted personal details.
Users receive a confirmation, and can track their order inside a separate Buy for Me tab in the app.
Customer service, delivery, and returns are handled by the brand itself, and not Amazon.
🧠 Powered by Agentic AI: Agentic AI means the AI acts on behalf of the user, automating the full purchase experience. Unlike tools from OpenAI or Perplexity, which often require manual checkout or stop halfway, Amazon’s agent goes end-to-end.
📣 What the experts are saying: Scot Wingo, ecommerce tech CEO, called it “bonkers,” noting that it contradicts Amazon’s longstanding strategy of keeping users inside its platform. And strategist Jason Goldberg believes the real play is data. Essentially, every third-party checkout gives Amazon sharper insights for ads, merchandising, and user profiling.
Why it matters 🤔
This is a rare case where Amazon’s long game trumps short-term profits. By stepping outside its own store, it’s a strategic move to remain the starting point of online shopping, and to own the entire shopping journey, even if it doesn’t own the product. Thankfully, other brands can benefit from Amazon’s traffic and trust without handing over their full catalog 🛒.
Source: Digital Commerce 360
Perplexity is going beyond AI-powered answers to help users shop. The search engine just announced a partnership with Firmly.ai that brings native checkout directly into its platform. That means users can now find, review, and buy products without ever clicking away.
Here are the deets ⬇️:
🧩 How it works: Firmly.ai provides a plug-and-play API that lets any merchant, whether big or small, to list products inside Perplexity. Without coding or any setup drama, they stay the merchant of record, keep customer data, and receive 100% of the sale. Consumers complete checkout without redirects, using a clean, AI-guided interface powered by Perplexity’s Pro engine.
📈 Why now: Since launching “Buy with Pro” in late 2024, Perplexity says shopping queries have jumped 5x. “Users are acting on their searches,” says Taz Patel, Perplexity’s head of advertising. “They’re not just comparing. They’re buying.” In fact, they’re asking specific, purchase-ready questions like “Which 55-inch TV under $2,000 fits in a 10-by-10 room?” That’s where this new integration steps in to seal the deal in real time.
🛍️ Who benefits: This move helps brands reach new customers without losing control over the transaction. “It’s a win-win,” says Firmly CEO Kumar Senthil, adding that the partnership “removes integration friction and opens the door for millions of new buyers.”
🧠 Smart shopping meets smart answers: Perplexity’s shopping experience is built around its “answer engine,” not a feed of ads or affiliate links, but clean, cited information with related follow-up questions, real-time inventory, and checkout built into the interface.
Why it matters 🤷♂️
With the advent of agentic AI, we’re seeing a lot more search tools optimize for ecommerce because it presents a major opportunity for brands to show up exactly when intent is highest. With this in the picture, it’s possible to get in front of high-intent shoppers, even without ad fees or going through affiliates.
🚢 The tariff tension is now getting real
Source: Nathan Howard | Reuters
We’ve been tracking Trump’s proposed tariffs for a while now, but things just got a whole lot more real. From global tariff hikes taking effect this week to sweeping changes in how low-cost goods are imported, the trade war heightens new rules.
The latest updates are already raising costs, reshaping supply chains, and hitting ecommerce sellers hard, especially those relying on DTC models or overseas fulfillment. Here’s a quick rundown on what’s happening and what to brace for next 📉:
📦 What’s New and In Effect
April 9 Tariff Deadline: Trump’s new “reciprocal tariffs” kicked in this week, slapping imports from 86 countries with rates ranging from 11% to 84%.
China is getting hit the hardest, with a jaw-dropping 104% cumulative tariff rate after a last-minute 50% hike.
Southeast Asian countries like Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia are also on the tariff list, impacting apparel and electronics.
Starting May 2, the $800 duty-free exemption for low-value shipments from China and Hong Kong is gone. Here’s what that means:
Every small parcel, even a $10 item, now requires full customs clearance.
New tariffs for postal shipments: $25 per item in May, jumping to $50 in June.
For DTC brands using Chinese suppliers and cheap air freight, this is a major cost and compliance headache.
According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll, 73% of Americans expect prices to rise within six months. So, naturally, people are… stockpiling. Inflation is expected to spike in sectors like clothing (up to 10%), and autos (up to $10,000) due to parts crossing borders repeatedly.
🧮 Economic Projections Aren’t Pretty
The Tax Foundation projects the tariffs will:
Cost U.S. households $3.1 trillion over 10 years
Translate to a $2,100 tax increase per household by 2025
Affect not just imports, but domestic pricing as retailers pass on extra costs
Why it matters 🤨
Definitely, these policies have a direct hit on global sourcing pipelines, and we can call them a forced reset on how ecommerce brands approach sourcing, pricing, and international logistics. Also, shoppers will feel the price pressure, and we’re to expect longer delivery times, higher landed costs, and more returns friction 💸.
Well, domestic production and nearshoring could be due for a comeback. But until that’s viable, one would need to rethink pricing strategies, packaging efficiency, and perhaps even U.S.-based warehousing.
🛎️ The Ecom Press Insider
Source: ChatGPT Image Generator
Ecom Fact: The AI agents in ecommerce market is projected to grow from $3.6 billion in 2024 to a jaw-dropping $282.6 billion by 2034, with a CAGR of 54.7%. (Source: Market.us Scoop).
That growth isn’t hype. It’s a warning shot. As AI agents gradually become a necessity, your real competition might not be another brand… it’s the smartest assistant your customer trusts. Now’s the time to get your store AI-ready, or get stuck in 2020?
📚 Case Study: How Live Chat Took Ad Hoc Atelier from “Meh” to Magnifico
Source: TIDIO
Ever tried getting help on a website, waited 3 hours for a reply, and just said “forget it”? Yeah, us too. That’s exactly the pain Ad Hoc Atelier — a stylish Italian ecommerce platform selling curated clothing and accessories — was dealing with. Their site had traffic, but barely any of it was converting. Let’s break down how a single smart move flipped the script 📈
🚧 The Challenge
Ad Hoc Atelier had a serious cart abandonment issue — 83% of users were ghosting before checkout. That’s way above the industry average of 70%. Cold emails and long response times (3 hours!) weren’t helping either. Oh, and nobody wanted to talk on the phone. Shocker 😅!
💡 The Solution
They brought in live chat, the digital equivalent of a friendly shop assistant walking up and asking, “Need help finding anything?” The team added a live chat button and powered it up with sales-focused chatbots to keep things snappy.
📊 The Results?
🛒 Cart abandonment dropped from 83% to 73%
💬 Response time dropped from 3 hours to 1 minute
🔥 Conversion rate nearly tripled — from 0.35% to 0.9%
✨ Takeaway
One thing’s certain, speed and personalization win. It’s obvious shoppers aren’t just looking for good products but reassurance, fast answers, and a little human touch (even from a bot 🤖). And live chat did all three.
If you’re relying solely on email or contact forms, you’re likely leaking sales you didn’t even know you had. Adding live chat is more than just a support tool but a real-time conversion booster.
⚡️Worthy Mentions
Wrapping up…
What a week, and what a vibe for agentic AI 🤯. From Amazon's shopping bots to Perplexity’s checkout evolution, it's clear this trend is reinventing the norm in ecommerce.
As for tariffs, the pressure is mounting. And if more countries clap back, the price tag on everything from clothes to car parts might just go higher 📈.
We’ll be watching it all unfold, so you don’t have to 😎. Same time next week? Don’t forget to stay curious, and be sure to hit that subscribe button, if you haven’t already✨.