Bored at home? Wanderlust due to the COVID19 travel restrictions? Or just keen to explore/learn something new? Did you answer one of those questions with yes? If you did, I might have found something interesting for you: ‘Amazon Explore’
Amazon (2020) just launched the beta and describes its new service as an interactive live-streaming platform that offers 1-on-1 experiences around the world. The so-called ‘experiences’ are 30-60-minute 1-on-1 live sessions with a host. The host is the person offering a specific experience. The experiences are worldwide and split into three different categories: ‘culture & landmarks’, ‘learning & creativity’, and ‘shopping’. They start at around $10 and can get quite expensive (the most expensive one I found was a tour through Prague’s Old Town for $210). And the best thing is… you can become a host yourself.
Okay, all jokes aside… and sorry for the ad. Now back to business: why do you think amazon launched a service like that? I would say that the reasons are quite obvious. I am sure that all of you watched a live-stream before. And if you did, I guess you are part of the 63% of the population aged 18-34 who enjoy watching live-stream content daily, making it (unsurprisingly) one of the most popular types of online content (Stanimirovic, 2020). Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitch (also owned by Amazon), TikTok… you name it. Live-streams can be found (almost) everywhere nowadays. Accompanied by the current COVID19 pandemic, I think that its popularity will further increase. During the first COVID19 lockdown, for example, all aforementioned providers experienced exponential growth in their view counts (Stephen, 2020). I guess that’s why it is hardly surprising that the value of the live-streaming market is estimated to increase to almost $70 billion by the end of next year (Stanimirovic, 2020).
A new market? Whereas normal live-stream providers only offer one-to-many live experiences, amazon sees potential in personalized 1-on-1 experiences. And it is not the first ‘big’ company that wants to take advantage of small-scale virtual experiences. Due to COVID19 and its restrictions earlier this year, Airbnb and ClassPass (a fitness company) had to rethink their business models and launched similar services: Airbnb launched ‘virtual travel experiences’ and ClassPass personal ‘online classes’ (Porter, 2020).
I think that it has potential and can certainly benefit from network effects (more users=more value). And I am convinced that there are people out there attracted to those personalized 1-on-1 virtual experiences (if you check the stats of regular live-streaming). However, I will NOT try this service as I simply prefer real-world experiences. What about you? Would you try ‘amazon explore’?
References:
Amazon, (2020). [online] Available at: <https://www.amazon.com/b?ots=1&slotNum=2&imprToken=ecba6fd0-a6fc-ca8b-5b2&node=19424628011&ref=srk_stf_hro_lrn&tag=theverge02-20&ascsubtag=%5B%5Dvg%5Be%5D21259036%5Bt%5Dw%5Bd%5DD> [Accessed 6 October 2020].
Porter, J., (2020). Amazon Starts Offering Virtual Classes And Sightseeing Tours Via New Explore Platform. [online] The Verge. Available at: <https://www.theverge.com/2020/9/30/21494995/amazon-explore-virtual-classes-sightseeing-shopping-online-experiences> [Accessed 6 October 2020].
Stanimirovic, (2020). The Impact Of Live Streaming On Today’S Growingly Digital World. [online] BRIDTV. Available at: <https://www.brid.tv/how-live-streaming-is-changing-the-world-as-we-know-it/> [Accessed 6 October 2020].
Stephen, B., (2020). The Lockdown Live-Streaming Numbers Are Out, And They’Re Huge. [online] The Verge. Available at: <https://www.theverge.com/2020/5/13/21257227/coronavirus-streamelements-arsenalgg-twitch-youtube-livestream-numbers> [Accessed 6 October 2020].
Dear Denis,
Thank you for this interesting article. I had never heard about this before! I think that by doing this Amazon is again disrupting an industry (even multiple ones!) If this gets the attention it expects, it will change everyone habits, even in tourism. Some people who before could not afford travelling now could experience (almost) the same things as tourists. However, wouldn’t this encourage people to stay inside their homes, behind the screens and hinder the economy? As a tourist for example, you pay your museum tickets, tourist guide, restaurants, hotels, car rentals, airplanes and all kind of different activities. Even the most expansive Amazon Explore is less than all of this. I don’t think I will personally use it as I also prefer real life experience but I believe that if we want to make is sustainable for the economy, awareness should be raised about the potential danger of this.