This is super interesting and I like how they've categorized products into "collections" such as connected products, health & fitness, Indiegogo-backed, etc. Amazon is in a unique position to drive traffic and complete the transaction.
More from TechCrunch's @ingridlunden in Amazon Takes On Product Hunt, Shopify With Launchpad, An All-In-One Marketing And Sales Portal. 😉
Curious to hear what others in the Product Hunt community think of this.
@ElectricObjects is participating in the program, and from a vendor perspective it's been really impressive, and super important for how we think about distribution. The operational and financial requirements of jumping to mass retail are significant, but Launchpad makes the leap a bit more startup-friendly. Nice headline TechCrunch, but it's not a ProductHunt or Shopify competitor.
@rrhoover@jrlevine Totally agree, Jake.
I see this as less of a competitor to those platforms and more of a stepping stone between launch and a standalone store, because ultimately comp's will want customization and distribution beyond an Amazon storefront in Amazon's network. Network and discovery are key here—something Shopify/Magento/Bigcommerce have little focus on.
Re: discovery
This hub will probably have a pretty niche audience (I can't find a link to it anywhere on the site - where will it live?) but it'll be interesting to see how they leverage their scale to distribute/get these products noticed throughout their massive catalog.
Oh and @jrlevine - that's great news! We should get you on Canopy.
Great innovation ! It's the first time one of the most marketplace do that, isn't it ? In france, we have a store dedicated to startup's product (http://www.neoshop-laval.fr/en/p...).
This will be powerful tool for Indiegogo campaigns to ship product out. Beyond that, I'm hoping they improve the categorization and interface over time. Still seems to target a general shopper rather than a savvy tech shopper.
@chubert I believe so. It's a true partnership between Indiegogo and Amazon. Indiegogo had previously run a fulfillment campaign with Amazon, and this is extending the relationship. You wouldn't be able to buy Kickstarter funded goods on here.
First impressions:
- tried to skim it... but because it's a (wide) grid that kinda failed (I prefer lists)
- tried to find one product I would consider buying ... didn't find one...
- closed tab
It strikes me as the thing that Kickstarter didn't want to be. The Store for Kickstarted products. This is a great post crowdfunding phase place to be since it acts a a collector for all those successful things that people might have wanted but may not have backed. I see 3 products I'm ordering today.
It also hopefully gives these companies a great follow-on surge of orders instead of just shrinking back to whatever normal traffic they may receive at their own .com
Lastly, the value proposition changes dramatically from a) A thing I can back and wait 6 months to never to get to b) A thing I can buy with Prime and have in 2 days. You cannot underestimate the power of Prime.
Another smart move from Amazon. It helps new businesses reaching a wider audience. It strengthens Amazon's perception as an innovative retailer who cares about innovation. Could they go one step further and start doing product crowdfunding too? https://gigaom.com/2015/01/31/wh...
first impression: it feels like "Product Hunt for only Amazon stuff" with less than stellar design. only offering Amazon items explicitly avoids the diversity that makes Product Hunt amazing.
I agree with what @jrlevine said above. AL seems like a great midpoint for young product startups to showcase before making the jump to mass retail. It'll be impressive if Amazon can make this a success. With this, the Alexa Fund, and other initiatives that are startup-friendly, I'm optimistic!
Replies
Product Hunt
Product Hunt
Electric Objects
Uppercase
SlidesUp API
SlidesUp API
thirdweb
Algolia
CreatorClub
Boost
Octane AI
HTML 5 UP
Spotify
Cleft Notes
Neuron
Loot Market