Amazon has launched its Shop the Scene feature, allowing Prime Video viewers in the US to find and buy clothing and other products shown in films and television programmes through the Amazon Shopping app.
The service is available across more than 600 Prime Video titles. Viewers can use their phone to browse items associated with the scene they are watching, with Amazon using artificial intelligence to identify the same or similar products.
Matches will not always be exact, the company said. The feature is designed to limit disruption to viewing while allowing customers to move from watching a programme to shopping for items featured on screen.
Amazon is also adding a new shop tab to Prime Video’s X-Ray function. Using their remote, viewers will be able to identify actors and music in a programme, as well as browse products linked to the content, before completing a purchase on their phone.
Michelle Rothman, Amazon’s vice president of Prime Video shopping, said: “We are making it easier than ever for Prime Video customers to shop what they see on screen.”
The company’s wider Shop the Show service, introduced last year, is expanding from 1,300 titles to more than 8,000. It allows viewers to browse products connected with programmes, including items such as bobbleheads and Lego sets.
Amazon expands shopping through Prime Video
The move is part of Amazon’s effort to link its online retail business more closely with its streaming service. The company said its ad-supported Prime Video tier reached more than 315 million people worldwide late last year, up from the 200 million users disclosed in 2024.
Other streaming companies have also explored ways to turn programmes into shopping opportunities. Peacock introduced a Must ShopTV feature in 2023, while Disney+ has tested a shoppable television function using QR codes on certain pages.
Amazon has separately developed virtual product placement technology, which uses machine learning to allow advertisers to add brands to films and television programmes after they have been produced.
A YouGov survey cited by Amazon found that just over half of US adults considered product placement an effective form of advertising, compared with 14 per cent who viewed it as ineffective. Four per cent said they had acted after seeing a brand in content they watched; among that group, 22 per cent searched for the product online and 10 per cent said they bought it.
