Snap, Amazon partner on in-app shopping feature
Snap, the parent company of Snapchat, announced a new shopping partnership with e-commerce giant Amazon, which allows in-app item search and purchase.
Snap users will be able to search for products by taking a picture of either an item or a barcode, which will generate a link that, if clicked, would bring users to the Amazon app. If the specific product is not available, Amazon will recommend similar products.
In a press release on Monday, Snap said the feature is being tested among some users beginning this week, and it will be rolled out “slowly.”
The new feature could help the struggling app increase its revenue. Snapchat posted a loss during its most recent fiscal quarter, while daily active user growth slowed to its lowest rate ever.
The company lost more than $1 billion in value after social media star and businesswoman Kylie Jenner tweeted in February that she didn’t use the app anymore. A controversial redesign has also resulted in user backlash, which CEO Evan Spiegel credited for lackluster user growth.
While the announcement temporarily boosted Snap shares into the green on Monday, the stock since pared those gains. Shares are down more than 38 percent so far this year.
