Amazon is shutting down its rival to Instagram because you've probably never even heard of it
- Amazon is closing its Instagram-like shopping feature, Amazon Spark, just two years after it launched.
- Customers could scroll through its Instagram-like feed and click on tagged items in the photos or stories and purchase these directly on Amazon's site.
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Amazon is closing its Instagram-like shopping feature before many shoppers even had a chance to use it.
Known as Amazon Spark, the shopping tool launched just two years ago and was set up to enable users to browse Amazon products more easily.
Users could click on items tagged in photos and stories and purchase these directly on Amazon. Spark was only offered to Amazon Prime members.
But Spark didn't seem to take off as expected. Many people have likely never heard of this service and since it launched, Instagram has unveiled a similar rival shopping feature that allows its users to shop directly in its app, Instagram Checkout. Analysts are expecting checkout to be so successful that it will generate $10 billion in revenue in 2021.
Techcrunch, which was first to report the news of Spark being removed from Amazon's website and app, said that its winding down is also because its "primary stakeholder" and Amazon 's VP of consumer engagement, Chee Chew, left the company at the beginning of 2019, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Read more: Amazon has launched a shoppable social network called Spark - here's how it works
The URL amazon.com/spark now redirects the shopper to a new #FoundItOnAmazon site, which is a similar service that is focused on shoppable images of fashion and home decor items.
"Spark is not gone entirely, we've pivoted and narrowed the experience based on what resonated with customers," a spokesperson said in a statement to GeekWire. "We've changed the name to #FoundItOnAmazon to reflect the tag that influencers are using on social media to share their great finds with others."
Amazon did not respond to Business Inside's request for comment.
Amazon has been ramping up its efforts in recent months to be seen as a fashion shopping destination. It has rolled out new private-label brands, launched Prime Wardrobe (a try-before-you-buy service), and most recently unveiled its new fashion initiative, The Drop, where it enlisted a series of fashion influencers to create exclusive collections for its site.