Hi, my name is Surya and I have a problem. I order too much from Amazon. So much so, that all the books now dominate the walls of my apt.
Yet, Amazon also frustrates me to no end. When I buy a present for for someone, say my 1 year-old nephew, the next time on the site my recommendations are filled with the latest Dora the Explorer and Wiggles items. If youshop for someone regularly, like a spouse, the problem is even worse. While not a huge issue, it’s frustrating because it seems so easily fixed and because the “Recommended for” is one of Amazon’s coolest features. Here’s my suggestion on how to fix it:
Tags.
If the item is for me, I’d do nothing. If it’s a present for say, my niece, I’d tag it with her name at checkout, etc. This accomplishes a few things:
1) It cleans up my recommendations and only delivers things relevant for me– making me happy and getting them more sales.
2) It makes shopping for my niece easier. Next time I need a present for her, I’d just choose from my tags, and get recommendations for her. Amazon now starts building lock-in on gifts too.
Everyone wins, right? Amazon makes more money. I get a better experience. My niece gets better presents. The USPS gets more packages to deliver. Everyone’s happy.
Tags. I want tags!
2/21/13 – I still would like tags.
I am extremely bothered that they never store my credit card info….
I hope someone from Amazon reads your post and implements your suggestions today. This is a simple fix and it would make the visit to amazon.com more relevant of what I am interested in buying today.
Take a step further and I would not mind providing Amazon more information about the person I was shopping for (age, gender, likes..) so next time I am shopping for someone different, I can fill a few fields and Amazon could suggest gift ideas that other people have bought for someone else who meets similar criteria making my life easier!
That makes perfect sense. The recommendation feature is evident on so many websites, and I've realized similar problems. The tag system would help streamline the shopping experience, while making it much more diversified. I agree that the addition would help, and with Brad's demographic idea. All of these factors would greatly enhance Amazon's, and other similar services', capabilities.
This feature is buried but it's available at Amazon. Tag stuff with your family members names… even products you know they currently have and enjoy.
Then go here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/yourstore/tag/
(You can get recs on the items in a tag)
You can also clean up your own recs by going here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/yourstore/iyr/
Brad– great idea!
Prateek– thanks for the comment and reading.
Aaron– funny, Amazon did contact me and sent me to the same place. Thanks for the tip. It's too much work to do…but I might every now and then! Thanks for reading and commenting!