Reports were brought into the limelight a few days ago that suggested that Amazon (NASDAQ:$AMZN) is developing a new messaging service called Anytime. While some investors are skeptical about the idea, primarily because the consumer market for messaging apps is overcrowded, and it’s difficult see Amazon bringing anything new or unique to the table, there is one feature in particular that has some potential: talking to businesses.
The Majority of Businesses Are Doing It
It’s not a surprise that linking consumers with businesses is a core aspect of Facebook’s (NASDAQ:$FB) Messenger monetization strategy. The end goal is to help businesses automate and scale customer service interactions by making use of chatbots. According to CEO Mark Zuckerberg, as of right now, Facebook is trying to “build the behavior” of consumers that are reaching out to businesses on a messaging platform.
In the meantime, Apple (NASDAQ:$AAPL) has ambitions of its own to connect consumers with businesses in iMessage with Business Chat. Essentially, Apple is looking to turn their iMessage feature into a content platform. Business Chat is Apple’s latest feature and, currently, developers can use it in iOS 11. It will be available to the public in 2018. However, right now, it is still unclear as to how Apple plans on monetizing Business Chat.
Messaging Now Acts as an E-Commerce Platform
Considering how Amazon is the largest e-commerce platform in the world – and it is only getting bigger – the company could be well-positioned to facilitate these types of interactions. Not only does it have all of the data and details in terms of the transactions it processes, Amazon is also able to help handle customer support, therefore it could benefit from greater scale and automation.
Similar to Apple and Facebook, Amazon has plans to turn messaging into a channel for its e-commerce platform. In Apple’s description of Anytime, the company states that users will be able to obtain customer service, make reservations, check order status, and shop. Additionally, Amazon has pointed out that bank account information will be private and encrypted. All in all, this is where Anytime’s true potential comes into play.
Featured Image: twitter
