Amazon Shopping App Review: The Shopping Cart You Already Have, and the Features Most People Miss

Most people use the Amazon Shopping app the same way they use Amazon in a browser — search, buy, track shipping. That works, but the app has quietly grown a set of features you don’t get on the website. This Amazon Shopping app review is about which of those are actually worth using, and which are ads pretending to be features.

What the app does that the website doesn’t

Barcode scanner. Point the camera at any product’s barcode and Amazon shows you their price for it. Useful in stores to check whether the shelf price is actually a deal, or to reorder something at home when you don’t remember the name.

AR view for large items. Point the camera at your living room, tap a couch or TV in the app, and Amazon overlays a 3D model at the right size in your space. Better than a photo for judging whether a piece of furniture actually fits.

Product search by photo. Tap the camera icon in the search bar, photograph something, and Amazon searches for it. Not perfect but genuinely useful for “this thing broke and I don’t know what it’s called.”

Notifications — the setting worth changing immediately

By default the app sends push notifications for deals, “recommended for you” prompts, delivery updates, and Prime Day promotions. Most people install it and then leave 20 notifications a day on. Go to Settings → Notifications and turn off everything except “Order and delivery updates.” You’ll thank yourself in a week.

Order tracking — what it actually shows

The app’s tracking is better than the browser’s. You can see the truck on a map for last-mile deliveries, get “arriving today” notifications with narrower windows (11 AM – 1 PM instead of “by 10 PM”), and one-tap return any recent order. If you order regularly, this alone justifies the app.

Prime video and music inside the app — hidden bloat

Amazon has quietly folded Prime Video, Amazon Music, Kindle previews, and Audible into the Shopping app. When you tap what looks like a shopping tab, sometimes it opens Prime Video content instead. This annoys users who want a shopping app, not an entertainment hub. Turn off “Prime Video content” recommendations in Settings if this bothers you.

Alexa integration

The Alexa button in the app lets you voice-search for products, reorder past purchases, or check tracking without typing. Fine feature, but requires you to sign in to Alexa (a separate account permission). If you already use Alexa on a speaker at home, this is convenient. If not, ignore it.

Payment and security

Your saved payment methods work across the app and website. Two-factor authentication is available and should be on — Settings → Login & security → Two-Step Verification. Amazon is a common phishing target, and one text-code layer keeps someone with your password from ordering things to a new address.

The app supports Google Pay, PayPal, gift cards, and split payments at checkout. This is broader than most retail apps.

Where the app frustrates

Ads everywhere. Sponsored products dominate search results, and the “For You” tab is almost entirely advertising dressed as recommendations. The website has this too, but on the smaller phone screen it’s more noticeable. Learn to scroll past the sponsored section.

The interface changes constantly. Amazon A/B tests the app aggressively, so the button you learned to tap last month might have moved. This is unavoidable.

Privacy — the note that matters

Amazon tracks everything you tap. Search history, wishlist items, time spent looking at a product, all of it feeds their recommendation and ad systems. The barcode scanner and photo search send images to Amazon’s servers. There’s no way to opt out of most of this if you want to use the app at all. If minimizing Amazon’s data on you matters, use the website in a private browser tab instead.

Should you use the Amazon Shopping app?

If you order from Amazon more than twice a month, yes — the tracking alone is worth it, and the barcode/photo search are genuinely useful features you can’t get on the site. If you order rarely, the browser is fine. And whatever you do, turn off the promotional notifications in the first minute after installing. Nobody needs 20 “deal” notifications a day.