Amazon just made a subtle change to its website, and some shoppers say they're stressed

Amazon.com

Amazon has changed the font for most text on its website.

• Amazon is making a subtle change to its website by altering the font of the plain text used throughout.
• The new font is called Amazon Bookerly, a typeface it developed for its Amazon Kindle e-reader tablets.
• It replaces Amazon Ember, which was also previously used in Kindle devices before Bookerly replaced it as the default font.
• Amazon has said in the past that the new font makes text easier to read quickly with less eye strain.
• Some customers are not reacting well to the change.

Customers browsing Amazon.com recently may have stumbled upon a small change on the website: the font choice.

Amazon is now showing text in the Amazon Bookerly font, as a snoop in the website's source text shows. This replaces the Amazon Ember font, which Amazon started using on its website just last year.

The change isn't drastic, but the fonts do look markedly different. The big change is that Ember is an Arial-derived font, whereas Bookerly notably has serifs, making it appear more ornate and, dare we say, fancy. By comparison, Ember is straighter.

Amazon.com

Amazon's old font Ember (left) compared with the new font Bookerly (right).

Amazon released Bookerly as the default font for its Kindle Paperwhite e-reader in 2015. Amazon has said in the past that the font is "2% easier on the eye" than other fonts. It also said that the font can help people read text more quickly.

The new font seems to be rolling out to customers in stages. A company spokesperson did not immediately return Business Insider's request for comment on the rollout process. 

Some customers have noticed the change, and as with anything sudden and unexpected, some are not super happy with it. One customer said on Twitter that the new design was causing stress, while another said they thought they were on a "scam page."

In a reply to one of the tweets, Amazon said it would take the comments on what it called its "new font" as feedback.