Alexa adds new features to help with your holiday shopping

By Jon Bitner November 20, 2023

An Amazon smart display on a kitchen counter. — Amazon

Alexa is one of the most popular smart assistants, and this month it’s becoming even more useful. Just in time for the holidays, Amazon has rolled out three new features to assist with your trips to the grocery store.

One of the coolest new features allows you to scan your handwritten shopping list and instantaneously convert it to an Amazon Shopping list. After opening the Alexa app and heading to the Shopping List menu, simply press the Scan button to start the process.

The other two Alexa updates relate to shopping at Amazon Fresh or Whole Foods Market. The first update lets you find and apply deals instantly using a code in the Amazon app. These deals will populate below each list item and are easy to find in a hurry.

When we tested the feature, scanning the handwritten word “soap” added it to our shopping list and pulled up dozens of different products below the list item — giving us a chance to pick our favorite brand or find the best deal. It’s a surprisingly useful feature, and one should make it easier than ever to streamline your shopping experience and save money.

The final update lets you place a Fresh or Whole Foods Market order directly from the Alexa Shopping List in the Alexa app. This is done by selecting the Shop your list button at the top of the screen, which will automatically load the Amazon app.

Amazon hopes the features will ease the pain that is Thanksgiving shopping. The features will be sticking around beyond the holidays too, so be sure to check them out before your next trip to the grocery store.

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Jon Bitner is a writer covering consumer electronics, technology, and gaming. His work has been published on various websites…

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