Amazon is broadening the reach of “Shop Direct,” a program allowing U.S. customers to find and purchase products not available in its store. On Wednesday, the company announced support for third-party product feeds, used by merchants to share details of their inventory, pricing, and catalog with partners. This data enables Amazon to guide shoppers to a merchant’s website through search results or its AI shopping assistant, Rufus, and even allows AI-assisted purchases.
Amazon has incorporated third-party product feeds from Feedonomics, Salsify, and CEDCommerce, delivering real-time access to merchants’ inventory and product information. More providers will be added, and a dedicated merchant portal with a direct feed is anticipated soon.
In February 2025, Amazon started testing a feature linking to a retailer’s site if their own search results didn’t offer the product sought by a customer. Product info would appear on Amazon, with a link to the retailer’s site for further details, pricing, and delivery options. Customers would be informed they were leaving Amazon’s site to prevent confusion.
Offered to various brands, the program isn’t limited to those using Buy with Prime, Amazon’s payment information checkout service. While this could enhance brand exposure and sales, Amazon might gain insights into appealing brands, products, and price points, aiding its business by providing competitive data and identifying trends and potential partners.
Amazon aims to strengthen its position as a starting point for product searches with “Buy for Me,” where an AI agent completes purchases on third-party sites. The AI handles the entire buying process, requiring customers to only confirm order details on the checkout page.
Customers can track these orders in the “Your Orders” tab alongside Amazon purchases, or in a special “Buy for Me Orders” tab. Shop Direct is available for U.S. customers on Amazon.com, via the mobile app, and through Amazon’s Rufus AI assistant.