Perplexity is making a final push in preparation for the upcoming Black Friday with their Perplexity Pro shopping offering. This feature, discovered earlier, is already being partially rolled out to users. Perplexity is introducing new shopping widgets in its results that allow for quick purchasing. These widgets include options labelled “Buy with Pro” and provide various details like reviews and summaries of pros and cons.

Currently, purchases redirect users to related payment providers. However, an upcoming feature, potentially announced soon, will enable users to set up payment options and shipping addresses directly in Perplexity Settings. This will unlock one-click buying for Pro subscribers and cover shipping costs, making purchases effectively free of shipping fees. Perplexity may act as an intermediary, holding users’ payments before transferring them to merchants. According to descriptions found in the settings menu, users will also be able to track their purchases within Perplexity. Essentially, Perplexity aims to streamline the entire shopping process.

Comparing offers on major stores like Amazon is often time-consuming, but Perplexity seems poised to handle this through its shopping UI. Users will also be able to customize product variants, such as choosing different storage capacities when buying a phone. Evidence suggests partnerships with Amazon and potentially Klarna or Shopify, as their names have appeared in code snippets. Amazon, being a significant investor in Perplexity, seems likely confirmed. 

Black Friday provides the perfect timing for this feature’s release, enabling Perplexity to test hypotheses and capture consumer attention. For now, the feature is expected to launch in the US, with broader releases remaining uncertain.

This feature’s impact on Perplexity’s monetization strategy will be noteworthy. Perplexity has reportedly started experimenting with ads, discovered through data mining, with tests conducted in “shadow mode.” This means ads are not visible to users but allow Perplexity to gather data on potential revenue from impressions and artificial conversion metrics. These ads, alongside affiliate commissions (e.g., from Amazon), could complement Perplexity’s existing subscription revenue. However, visible ads may not appear until after Black Friday.

Observing these Perplexity developments and upcoming announcements will be interesting, particularly the interplay between ads, affiliate commissions, and Pro subscription offerings!