Amazon has significantly expanded its Prime Video shopping features, growing its "Shop the Show" tool from 1,300 titles to more than 8,000 while adding new visual search capabilities.

Chris Walton and Josh Hahn discuss whether shoppable TV is finally reaching scale or if it risks ruining the core entertainment experience.

▶️ Watch the full Fast Five episode here: https://youtu.be/089y7s8PKCE

According to Chainstorage Shop, the show lets viewers search for and buy products related to what they're watching.

Producer Ella probably loves this, from movies and shows to live sports like nascar directly through the Amazon Shopping app without on screen interruptions or extra logins.

Amazon also added a shop tab inside Prime Video's X ray feature and launched Shop the Scene, which uses the Amazon lens tool to let shoppers snap photos from their camera roll to find products like on screen outfits or home decor.

Jesus, I'm already lost.

Customers can trigger the experience by pressing up on their remote.

Oh my God.

Scanning an on screen QR code or searching Shop to show in the Amazon app with automatic syncing when devices are signed into the same account.

Amazon Prime Video VP of Shopping Michelle Rothman said the company has seen, quote, incredible enthusiasm, end quote, from customers discovering products inspired by what they watch.

Josh, you share Amazon's purported incredible enthusiasm for its new Shop the Show technology enhancements.

I think this is potentially a good move from a business standpoint.

Okay.

I don't love it from a, from a, like a viewer standpoint, like I'm there for the entertainment.

I don't really want to get that interrupted too much.

But so my, my comments, I guess and my, my like for this idea assumes like this frictionless and easy experience and I do not know what the experience is actually going to be like.

So just, just know that that's what I'm assuming here.

So with that said, I would say, you know, the biggest opportunity I see for Amazon's sake here is not necessarily more product sales but, but retail media.

And so I think, you know, as Amazon, you know, creates this content, they can, they can offer sponsored products featured in the content.

They could target consumer, you know, specific customer audiences.

They can measure closed loop, you know, from an investing standpoint.

So I think it's really smart on that side of thing, that side of things.

But again, that's assuming the viewing experience is not compromised.

If they screw that up, I think they're going to have a different problem on their hands because if people start walking away from Prime Video, they have a different advertising, you know, revenue problem to solve.

And so that's kind of my take on it.

I think it's cool.

But yeah, as long as it doesn't mess with that viewing experience.

That's a really interesting point.

Yeah, I mean that's that's where I am not the person for this.

Like, that's me, like, you know, to a T. Like, if I'm watching something on prime video, like a video, I'm locked in on that video because I'm a big movie, like a movie fan.

Like, I just love movies.

The last thing I want to do, or shows even, like, the last thing I want to do is be, like, consuming product in the moment where it takes me out of that experience.

So, yeah, I'm a, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm not sharing the incredible enthusiasm on this, but I'm just, you know, a sample size of 1.

But I do feel like this is a little bit of an outgrowth of the move towards live shopping and Amazon not being able to make a definitive inroad on that in relation to its competitors.

And, and trying to do this as a way to kind of gin up that same excitement or enthusiasm with its best step forward that it can do in a way that kind of seems Amazonish.

But to your point, it's, it's, it's going back to your question, you know, or not your question, but your point at the outset with the first headline with Walmart, it's kind of solving a need that, I don't know, actually exists in the marketplace.

Do you agree with that, Josh?

I do agree.

I think, like, the marketing geek in me thinks it's, it's really cool.

And, and this is why.

So when you think about, like, the traditional marketing funnel, right, you have.

Yeah, right.

Awareness, and then you have consideration and doing research and figuring out if you want to buy something, then you have conversion.

Right?

And so it's like, the cool thing about this is they're taking the whole funnel and putting it in one ecosystem.

So it's like they're driving awareness, they're driving consideration, and they're converting all in one spot.

And, and so it's kind of disrupting like this traditional marketing funnel where you're like, oh, I saw it on tv.

And then I researched online.

I went to the store and bought it.

And so that part is kind of cool, but I, I don't like it.

Like, personally, I don't want to, I don't want my, my, you know, entertainment interrupted with advertising.

Probably because I've done marketing and advertising for a long time.

But, but I'm like, you're jaded.

You're jaded.

Right?

Right.

Yeah, I know.

You know, like, I think like, you know, like the, the.

I don't know why this is a show that always comes up to me when I talk about this topic.

But, like, you know, like, Friends, like, you know, if the Friends episode was being, you know, streamed through Amazon, I could see what they were wearing or what products they're drinking or, you know, having fun with.

Like.

Yeah.

There's probably a lot of people that that would appeal to.

So that's why, like.

Yeah.

I just don't know which way I come down on this, but.

But I don't.

I don't think it's.

I don't think it should be as hyped as we're, as.

As the Amazon executive was trying to make it.

I agree.

You agree?

All right.

All right, cool.