Amazon is rolling out a new feature that lets shoppers pay their Venmo accounts

NEW YORK — Amazon is rolling out a feature that allows shoppers to pay for items using their Venmo accounts.

The ability to pay with Venmo will be available to select Amazon.com customers starting Tuesday, according to a press release from the e-commerce giant. By Black Friday – the day after Thanksgiving – it will be available nationwide.

Venmo is widely known for peer-to-peer transactions, but it’s expanding its offering to allow payments to businesses.

Amazon’s move to offer more payment options comes as sluggish sales numbers have prompted the company to halt plans to expand warehouses. Retailers are also taking a more restrained approach to the holiday shopping season, offering more discounts to clear out their inventory and woo consumers hit by inflation.

Earlier this month, Amazon held its second major sales event of the year for its Prime members, the first time the company has offered such discounts twice in a year. The retail behemoth did not disclose how much revenue it took in from the event, but some estimates showed its sales were down.