Amazon launches Black Friday deals — starting now

For every shopper that asks “Alexa, what are your holiday deals?,” Amazon now has answers.



The Internet giant has officially kicked off the holiday countdown with the launch of its Black Friday Deals Store and curated holiday gift guides, along with an array of other digital services geared to attract shoppers this shopping season.



Starting Nov. 1, shoppers can visit Amazon’s Black Friday Deals Store, a destination that features early Black Friday sales, as well as exclusive sales as often as every five minutes, through Dec. 22. These sales will feature top gifts such as electronics, toys, clothing, jewelry, kitchen items, and more.



Amazon is also offering up to 20 daily “Deals of the Day.” Some examples include $20 off the Kindle Paperwhite; savings on an LG 55” 1080p Curved Smart OLED TV, and up to 40% off select Magformers toys.



These efforts will feature “tens of thousands of deals this holiday season,” with new deals as often as every five minutes, according to a company statement.



Meanwhile, Amazon has compiled curated holiday gift guides across various categories. For example, the 2016 Amazon Electronics Gift Guide features more than 500 of this year’s most-coveted technology products. The 2016 Amazon Home Gift Guide curates more than 1,000 must-have products for the home, and the Handmade at Amazon Holiday Gift Guide features curated lists of handcrafted items sold directly by artisans.



In addition to the deals store, Amazon announced updates to its mobile apps that are designed to allow for easier shopping, even when a customer is in a physical store. In addition to a visual search tool and “Watch-a-Deal” alerts, the app is launching its Package X-Ray feature on Nov. 15. As the app’s camera icon scans a package’s barcode, images of items inside the box will pop up on the user’s mobile screen.



The camera icon is also making searches visual. For example, as customers use the camera icon to snap a picture of an item, the app will pull up a list of similar items.



Also new, Prime members can use their voice to order tens of millions of products by asking Alexa on their Amazon Echo, Echo Dot, Amazon Tap, Amazon Fire TV, or Fire tablet. To promote the service, Amazon is featuring exclusive deals just for voice shoppers, the statement said.