Amazon Anywhere, unveiled May 9, is a new service from Amazon.com Inc. that allows users of gaming, mobile, Web and augmented reality apps to buy real items related to the app without leaving the gaming interface. It’s a new step by the e-commerce giant in expanding its reach beyond its already vast online marketplace, opening its online store to video games and mobile apps created by other companies.
The service debuted Peridot, an AR game with virtual pets developed by Niantic, creator of Pokemon Go, according to the company’s blog. A demo video shows a user linking their Amazon account to the game and purchasing a t-shirt, which is then delivered from an Amazon warehouse.
Amazon, the leading North American Web merchant that ranks in the top 1,000 by sales, according to Digital Commerce 360’s database, and third on Online Marketplaces, a list of the world’s 100 largest marketplaces, is making moves to expand its influence online. That becomes especially important in light of growing competition from companies like Shopify Inc. and others providing sophisticated e-commerce solutions.
In January, the Buy With Prime program was launched, which allows Prime subscribers to use a quick delivery service when shopping on third-party Web sites. Sellers who join Buy with Prime get access to customers’ order information, including their email addresses, which Amazon says allows them to serve customers more efficiently and build direct relationships with customers.
Before that, the Seattle-based company had long worked hard to attract customers to its online store, among other things, by offering partners a portion of the profits from each sale through links to products on Amazon.
