Amazon will offer exclusive shopping deals during the holiday shopping season for users of its voice assistant Alexa.
Starting today through Nov. 21, shoppers will get exclusive deals on TVs, cooking sets, Legos, and more for orders placed through Alexa and its companion home automation devices, Echo and Dot. Users will be able to access those deals by saying, “Alexa, what are your deals?”
It’s not surprising that Alexa is playing a role in this year’s holiday e-commerce blitz considering Amazon’s effort to market its home automation devices. Alexa has gained traction with users for its ability to answer questions, turn on lights, and re-order items like diapers directly through the e-commerce giant’s voice-controlled home devices as well as through its connected speaker, Tap and Fire TV.
Amazon said that it will debut Alexa-exclusive deals on the busy shopping day after Thanksgiving—Black Friday—along with the what’s known as Cyber Monday—and every day in November and December. Customers who buy discounted items costing $10 or more through Alexa between now and Cyber Monday will also receive a bonus $5 Amazon gift card.
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The one caveat is that items purchased must be a Prime product, meaning it is fulfilled by Amazon and can be shipped to customer’s doorsteps within two days or less. Alexa automatically charges users’ credit cards, and arranges the shipping.
Amazon’s Alexa deals help to put the spotlight on voice-enabled assistants, a growing battleground that includes a number of players such as Google and Apple. Of course, Amazon’s exclusive deals for Alexa users is yet another way for it to encourage shoppers to buy more items during a quarter that is the biggest of the year in terms of revenue for the company. The idea is to make commerce so easy for customers that they barely think about it—and, of course, help increase Amazon’s business.
Amazon offered similar exclusive deals for Alexa shopping on its Prime Day, a self-declared e-commerce holiday in July.