Amazon's Shop Direct catalog reached 250 million links to products sold elsewhere, according to an October 28, 2026 report. That is 2.5 times its March size, extending Amazon's role in discovery even when the eventual purchase happens on another store's site.
A shopper can find a brand on Amazon and still place the order on that brand's own store.
Shop Direct expands beyond Amazon's own selection
PYMNTS reported that Shop Direct included 100 million products in March and 250 million product links by October. Amazon also made the listings more prominent and displayed more product details on its own site.
Amazon said Shop Direct products appeared in hundreds of millions of searches each month. That describes exposure, not clicks or sales. A merchant needs its own referral and order data to judge the value of those appearances.
The report says merchants can sync with Shop Direct using the same product feeds they already provide to Feedonomics, Salsify and CedCommerce. For businesses already using those services, that may offer a route into Amazon discovery without a separate Amazon retail listing.
The feed becomes part of the storefront
When Amazon displays more product information before the click, a shopper can form an opinion before visiting the merchant. A stale price can make a competitive product look expensive. Missing variants can hide the size or color that would have made it relevant.
Treat the feed as information a customer may actually shop from. Product names should distinguish variants, and the destination page should show the item described in the listing. A link helps less when the shopper has to search the store again to find the item.
Prada tests discovery from its own sources
Prada's ChatGPT pilot, reported by Retail Gazette on October 28, uses the brand's own sources to help shoppers explore products and find store information. Developed with Accenture Song, it is available in the UK and US, as well as Italy.
A brand-led conversation can explain details that a short listing leaves out, such as materials or the differences between collections. Its usefulness still depends on how clearly those details are documented.
The reported scope covers discovery and store information. It does not establish that shoppers can complete checkout inside the tool.
In either setting, the same product may appear far from the page where the merchant originally described it. Clear distinctions between variants help that information remain useful when a search listing or a conversation becomes the shopper's first encounter with the brand.
Common questions
Does Shop Direct require selling inventory on Amazon?
Shop Direct links to products sold by other stores. A shopper can discover an item on Amazon and follow the link to the merchant.
Do 250 million listings mean 250 million purchases?
The figure counts product links in the catalog. It does not measure orders or visitors sent to merchants.
Is Prada's pilot an in-chat checkout service?
The reported pilot supports product discovery and store information. Checkout inside ChatGPT was not established in that report.