A feature that a number of Amazon Echo users were looking forward to (probably!) has finally arrived. Those who are Amazon Prime members can now talk to the device and order any Prime-eligible product that Amazon is selling. Previously, any shopping done via Echo was limited to reordering items from pas Amazon purchases.
Those who want to use this feature will have to have a 1-Click payment method set up in their Amazon account. They’ll also need to have voice purchasing tuned on in the Alexa mobile app. Having the four-digit confirmation code being set up is purely optional.
If a shopper uses Echo to make a purchase, Amazon will initially start looking for Prime-eligible products in their order history and offer those for purchase. If and when an item matching the user’s search isn’t found, Alexa will look for “Amazon’s Choice” items next and then search through all Prime-eligible products.
Matt McGee was one of the people who was able test it, and the time he was able to spend with it, he said it seemed to work fairly well. Aside from voice recognition issues (what product that uses a voice feature DOESN’T have issues?), Echo found items in his order history. One of the things I though is neat, is that it didn’t use the full/official product name. Responding to a purchase request, Echo lets you know the total price (includes tax) and even offers different sizes if that’s an option for that purchase.
According to Amazon, there are “tens of millions” of products that are available for voice purchase. There is a company help page that will explain the product categories that aren’t eligible, like Shoes, Apparel and Jewelry.