Amazon Shutters 'Inspire' Video, Photo Shopping Feed

Despite TikTok's uncertain lifespan in the United States, as well as the global rise of social commerce, Amazon is discontinuing its Inspire social feed, which resembled TikTok Shop and allowed users to purchase products from branded creator-made video and photo content.

Inspire originally launched in 2022, when social commerce -- inspired by Chinese apps like Douyin -- began to gain traction in the United States.

Since then, the industry has grown. It is on track to be a $100 billion industry in the U.S. this year, with an estimated $71.6 billion in purchases made in 2024.

TikTok Shop's U.S. division alone recorded over $100 million in sales on Black Friday this year.

Therefore, Amazon's shutdown of this particular investment in the social commerce space comes as a surprise, especially since TikTok's future in the U.S. remains uncertain, with various investors continuing to compete for the opportunity to purchase the app before it vanishes from the region, and social-media platforms rapidly developing copycat features.

However, according to a company spokesperson, the end of Inspire can be attributed to customer disinterest.