Amazon is launching a new immersive shopping experience called “Amazon Anywhere,” the company announced Tuesday. The service brings Amazon’s online marketplace to video games and mobile apps, starting with Niantic’s new real-world augmented reality game Peridot.
With Amazon Anywhere, the company enables users of gaming, mobile and AR applications to discover and purchase Amazon physical products without leaving the game or app. Peridot players can now link their Amazon account to the game and purchase a t-shirt. For context, Peridot is a pet simulator, but it takes place entirely within augmented reality (AR). You can feed, play with, walk, breed and socialize your Peridots.
“After seamlessly linking your Amazon account to Peridot, you’ll be able to find Peridot-branded products such as t-shirts, hoodies, phone accessories, and throw pillows featuring artwork of magical creatures from the game,” the company wrote in a blog post. “You’ll see the familiar product details, images, availability, Prime eligibility, price, and estimated delivery date as you’d see in Amazon stores.”
Once you select the “buy” button, you can checkout with your linked Amazon account without leaving the game. Products are shipped to you like any other Amazon purchase, and you can track and manage orders through the Amazon app.
Amazon notes that most shopping in virtual worlds is currently limited to purchases of virtual currency and in-game digital items, but it wants to give users the option to purchase physical products, which is why it’s launching the new offering.
Today’s announcement indicates that Amazon is looking to expand its reach beyond its online marketplace by engaging with users in new ways. Earlier this year, the company expanded its Buy with Prime service to US-based sellers. The service, which allows third-party sellers to offer Prime benefits such as free shipping and returns on their own apps, was initially only available to sellers who already used Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) to handle their shipping and logistics.