Amazon to sell Kenmore products and is giving Prime members their own social network

What have we come to when Sears turns to Amazon to sell its appliances?

In a statement Thursday, Sears Holdings announced the Kenmore line of appliances will be made available at Amazon.com.

“This marks the broadest distribution of Kenmore, America’s most trusted home appliance brand, outside of Sears branded stores and related online retail platforms,” Sears said in its news release.

This the company’s latest strategy of a store model with strictly mattresses and appliances in a new store in Texas.

Kenmore smart appliances also are being enabled to work with Amazon’s Echo smart home device (more commonly known as “Alexa,” its wake word for taking commands).

In a search on Amazon’s online store Thursday, you could buy a Kenmore window-unit air conditioner that can take commands from Alexa (free shipping with Prime).

“The distribution on Amazon.com is planned to be expanded to the full line of Kenmore home appliances in all U.S. market segments, with Kenmore, Sears Home Services, and Innovel Solutions providing white-glove service for delivery, installation and extended product protection for a full range of home appliances,” Sears said Thursday.

“This collaboration is the first of its kind for Kenmore, broadening its accessibility to the next generation of American families outside of Sears branded retail channels,” said Tom Park, president of Kenmore, Craftsman and DieHard brands at Sears Holdings.

Translation: People who don’t shop at Sears might be enticed to buy their appliances online at Amazon.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed, nor were details on when the broader range of appliances will show up on the site.

And, when you are ready to show off that new Kenmore purchase, Amazon has a new social channel for you to share it: Spark social feed. It’s available now for Prime customers using its Amazon app on iPhones, with an Android version coming soon, according to Amazon’s FAQ on its website.

Think of it as a mashup of Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest.

Business Insider took it for a spin and offered a user guide for those interested.

This story was originally published July 20, 2017 at 2:26 PM with the headline "Amazon to sell Kenmore products and is giving Prime members their own social network."