Amazon’s audiobook marketplace, Audible, has traditionally operated independently of the retailer’s broader strategies. However, a recent move by Audible aims to bridge this gap by introducing a new recommendation feature that suggests audiobooks based on users’ Prime Video viewing habits.
This feature is currently in a testing phase and is presented through a new discovery page that displays a carousel of personalized audiobook recommendations. The recommendations are tailored to each user based on their Prime Video viewing behavior and incorporate collaborative filtering to predict relevant titles.
Amazon notes that this feature was inspired by observed consumer patterns where an increase in audiobook listenership occurs when books are adapted into TV shows or movies. For instance, after the Prime Video premiere of ‘Reacher,’ there was an 80% surge in daily listening minutes for author Lee Child’s catalog. Similarly, other titles like ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty,’ ‘Daisy Jones & The Six,’ and ‘Red, White, and Royal Blue’ experienced significant increases in listenership following their adaptations into TV shows or movies.
This move by Audible can also be seen as a response to growing competition in the audiobook market, particularly from Spotify, which recently expanded its Premium subscription to include audiobooks. With Spotify’s ability to utilize customer data for personalized recommendations, Audible’s integration of Prime Video viewing data into its recommendation engine may help it maintain its competitive edge.
Andy Tsao, Chief Product & Analytics Officer at Audible, commented on the potential of this feature, stating, ‘There is a natural synergy between TV, movies, and books, and we see that clearly in how our customers engage with content on Audible.’ He added, ‘We are constantly innovating to deliver on what our customers want and we’re excited about the potential of this feature to help our listeners dive deeper into the stories and worlds they love in other mediums, and to discover new ones as well.’
