Amazon is testing a new feature in its shopping app that directs customers to external brand websites when a desired product is not available on Amazon's platform.

A broader shopping experience: "We're continuously working to expand selection and make shopping even more convenient for customers," said Rajiv Mehta, Amazon's VP of search and conversational shopping, in a post on the company's website. "We’re testing bringing more selection and brands into our search results to help customers find even more of what they want and further improve our shopping experience for customers."

How it works: In the current beta phase, a select group of U.S. customers using the Amazon Shopping app on iOS and Android devices will encounter the new feature. When these users search for specific products, the app will display relevant items sold by Amazon alongside select products not available on its platform.

If a customer selects a product that Amazon doesn't sell, they will receive a notification indicating they are leaving Amazon, and will then be redirected to the brand's official website to complete their purchase.

Future plans: While the feature is currently limited to a subset of U.S. customers, Amazon plans to implement it more broadly based on user feedback and performance metrics gather during the beta phase.