Amazon Launches Personalized Shopping Site Called Scout

Amazon is rolling out a new, specialized shopping service within its namesake e-commerce site. Amazon Scout is the second new shopping page the company has launched this week, and it is focused on using machine learning to recommend items to customers based on things they like or dislike, according to CNBC.

When customers go to the Amazon Scout page, they will find product listings with thumbs up and thumbs down icons underneath them. The idea is simple: Customers tell Amazon what they like, and Amazon’s machine learning technology finds similar products for them. At the same time, customers tell Amazon what they do not like, and the technology weeds out those products.

For example, clicking the thumbs down button on every patio bench that is not black will eventually make the site only show the customer black patio benches, if that is what they want. At the moment, it is just a binary “yes” or “no” choice for each product; there is no way for customers to tell Amazon Scout specifically what they like or dislike about an item.

So far, Scout almost exclusively sells furniture and home decor. Items such as chairs, benches, vases and light fixtures can all be found on the Scout page right now. The only exception is that Scout also sells women’s shoes. Amazon told CNBC more categories are coming, including more clothing.

“This innovative shopping experience is powered by Machine Learning,” Amazon told CNBC in a statement. “The result is a beautiful and inspirational image feed, which gives customers the ability to explore a wide range of products in a playful and personalized manner with just a few clicks.”

Amazon Scout will put pressure on smaller services, like Stitch Fix, that have been able to avoid Amazon’s dominance by offering more personalized shopping experiences than Amazon does. Earlier this year, Amazon starting allowing Prime subscribers to try out clothes for a week without buying them, which is also similar to Stitch Fix.

While Stitch Fix uses human stylists to pick out clothing for its customers, Amazon could use its machine learning tech to offer a similar service down the road.

Scout is the second specialized shopping service Amazon launched this week. The firm also unveiled Storefronts, a new page designed to shine a spotlight on small and medium third-party sellers.