iWorld
Prime Video launches short-form video feed to help users decide what to watch
Clips, which started with NBA highlights, is expanding to movies and shows as Prime Video bets on the scroll habit to drive discovery
WASHINGTON: Prime Video is going after the scroll. The Amazon-owned streaming service has expanded “Clips”, a short-form vertical video feed, beyond NBA highlights to include moments from movies and series across its platform, in a clear bid to hook users who need a nudge before committing to something longer.
The feature works much like a social media feed. Users scroll down to the Clips carousel on the Prime Video mobile home page, tap any clip, and enter a full-screen vertical feed of personalised snippets tailored to their viewing history. From any clip, they can watch the full title, rent or buy it, subscribe to access it, save it to a watchlist, like it, or share it directly through a messaging app, social platform or email. Recipients get a link that takes them straight to the clip inside the app, though they will need the Prime Video app installed to view it.
Brian Griffin, director of global application experiences at Prime Video, said the idea is to make discovery frictionless. “Clips gives customers a whole new way to browse with short, personalised snippets tailored to their interests. Whether they have a few minutes to scroll or are looking for something to watch when they have more time, entertainment is just a tap away,” he said.
Clips is part of a broader mobile overhaul at Prime Video. Recent changes include a refreshed home page that auto-plays trailers as users browse, vertical images designed for phone screens that allow users to see up to 50 per cent more titles at once, and a redesigned player that lets viewers explore new titles, cast details and trivia without interrupting what they are watching.
The feature is initially rolling out to select users in the United States on iOS, Android and Fire tablets, with a full rollout across those devices expected this summer. Prime Video costs $14.99 a month or $139 a year in the United States.
With Netflix, YouTube and every social platform on the planet already fighting for the same eyeballs, Prime Video is essentially borrowing the one habit it knows users cannot kick: the endless scroll. Whether Clips converts browsers into buyers is the only question that matters.
