Amazon turned Prime Video's X-Ray into a shopping aisle

Amazon has added shopping controls to Prime Video's X-Ray interface, letting US viewers move from a scene on television to a product feed on their phones. A new feature called Shop the Scene uses Amazon Lens to find items inspired by clothing, furniture and other objects visible in more than 600 titles.

The company announced the expansion on September 10. It extends Shop the Show, a feature introduced last year, from 1,300 movies, series and sports programs to more than 8,000 titles in the United States.

X-Ray now has a Shop tab

Prime Video's X-Ray menu traditionally identifies actors, music and trivia connected to the scene currently playing. On supported devices, shopping now appears beside those information tabs.

A viewer presses up on the remote to open Shop, then opens the Amazon Shopping app. If the television device and phone use the same Amazon account, the app recognizes what is playing and presents a feed synchronized to that moment.

Purchases are completed on the phone. Viewers can also scan a QR code on the television or search for Shop the Show manually in Amazon's app.

The design keeps payment details away from the television interface, but it also turns a feature originally built to answer "who is that actor?" into a path from recognition to checkout.

The products do not have to be the originals

Shop the Scene goes a step beyond a conventional merchandise page. Amazon Lens analyzes a selected moment and surfaces products similar to a character's outfit or the decor in a room.

Amazon describes these results as inspired by what appears on screen. That wording matters: the sweater in the product feed may resemble the one worn by a character without being the exact costume used by the production.

The company gives Off Campus as an example. A viewer notices a character's sweater, opens the synchronized storefront, taps the scene image and receives a set of visually similar options.

Streaming becomes the top of the store

Amazon already controls both sides of this interaction. Prime Video supplies the entertainment and the Shopping app supplies the catalog, recommendation system and checkout.

The new flow reduces the steps between seeing an object and buying something like it. It also gives Amazon another commercial layer inside a subscription service where product placement, licensed merchandise and algorithmic recommendations can overlap.

Shop the Scene is currently limited to the Amazon Shopping app on iOS and Android in the United States. Amazon has not announced an international timetable or explained how often Lens will identify the exact product rather than a look-alike.