Topic: E-commerce
Amazon India is letting users sell their old products – Mashable (Jan 2, 2017)
This is an interesting new angle from Amazon as it tries to compete with homegrown competitor Flipkart in India. It’s a good example of Amazon’s flexibility in responding to local conditions in markets outside the US – unlike some other big tech companies, it’s not rigid about a particular business model, and instead experiments as necessary to find the right products and strategies to make each market work. It’s still an uphill battle, however, in many of these markets, notably China, while it does seem to be making progress in India.
via Amazon India is letting users sell their old products – Mashable
Amazon beat competitors in a new way this holiday season: Money spent on TV ads – Recode (Dec 29, 2016)
Most of the big online companies have eschewed traditional advertising in the past, and yet that’ starting to change – Google now spends money promoting its hardware, among other things. And Amazon is now spending increasing amounts – and more than Walmart or Target – during the holiday period. That can be read as a sign of confidence, but more likely it’s a sign that Amazon feels the need to reach out to new users (the 17%) to drive growth, which in turn may be a sign of a user base reaching saturation point.
via Amazon beat competitors in a new way this holiday season: Money spent on TV ads – Recode
Amazon patent reveals its drone-deploying flying warehouse plan (Dec 29, 2016)
With the usual caveat about not assuming a patent filing implies immediate (or even any) intention to build something, this is another fascinating step in the evolution of Amazon’s logistics operation. Logistics are vital to Amazon’s ability to do what it does, and a small competitive edge driven by innovation pays off in big ways. Definitely looks like a better use for a barge than Google’s ill-fated Glass showroom.
via Amazon patent reveals its drone-deploying flying warehouse plan
Not Everyone Wants to Shop on Amazon – WSJ (Dec 29, 2016)
Though the thrust of this piece is that there are lots of people who don’t shop on Amazon, for a host of interesting reasons, the flip side is that 83% of shoppers do use the site at least annually, while over half use it at least monthly. That’s an amazing reach for a single retailer, and Prime of course is intended to drive people from occasional to regular use. That 17% holdout rate is down from the high 20s just five years ago.
via Not Everyone Wants to Shop on Amazon – WSJ
Big Growth in Tiny Businesses – WSJ (Dec 28, 2016)
Online retail is creating opportunities for new kinds of businesses – very small ones, often with a single employee who’s also the owner, across all kinds of fields, including food, manufacturing, and chemicals (including soap and perfume).
via Big Growth in Tiny Businesses – WSJ
These three hot e-commerce startups could have surprise IPOs in 2017 – Recode (Dec 28, 2016)
The e-commerce space has been dominated by news of failures by small and medium-sized startups over the past year, but there are others which are quietly finding some success, and this article cites three that might even IPO in 2017. Of course, any company in this space is also a potential acquisition target for Amazon (or Walmart, Target, or other traditional retailers). But it’s good to know that others can still succeed in the market over which Amazon casts such a large shadow.
via These three hot e-commerce startups could have surprise IPOs in 2017 – Recode
Reversing Course, Amazon Testing Google Product Listing Ads, May Be Ramping Up Efforts | Merkle (Dec 28, 2016)
This is just third-party observation in the wild at this point, so it should be taken with a pinch of salt, but this would be a big win for Google and conversely a big concession for Amazon, which has stayed out of Google’s shopping search since it became a paid placement product. Third party data we linked to in September suggested 55% of online shopping searches start on Amazon, but 28% still start on search engines like Google. Amazon is here attempting to divert some of that 28% back to its site.
via Reversing Course, Amazon Testing Google Product Listing Ads, May Be Ramping Up Efforts | Merkle
Amazon 2016 Holiday Shopping Press Release – Amazon PR (Dec 27, 2016)
This is classic Amazon PR – lots of superlatives and relative statements, but nothing concrete, with a smattering of slightly ridiculous “fun facts” about how many cookies could be made with the KitchenAid mixers sold. But there are key points worth noting, including the 9x increase in Echo sales, suggesting a mainstreaming of the product, and the rapid growth in Prime Now. Certainly more fodder for the Amazon dominating E-commerce narrative.
via Amazon – Press Room – Press Release
Retailers Make 11th-Hour Push to Lure Last-Minute Shoppers – WSJ (Dec 23, 2016)
A survey cited in the article suggests Amazon has eclipsed Walmart over the last three years when it comes to holiday shopping, and the gap is widening significantly. This further feeds the narrative that Amazon is outpacing all its major rivals in terms of not just e-commerce spend growth but retail growth overall.
via Retailers Make 11th-Hour Push to Lure Last-Minute Shoppers – WSJ
Is Amazon Europe’s Next Top Model? – Bloomberg (Dec 21, 2016)
A big part of Amazon’s recent success is its continuing ability to work its magic in retail segments that had once been considered off limits to an pure-play e-tailer, with clothing and fashion in particular one of the most far-fetched. This article cites its competitiveness in this segment in Europe.
via Is Amazon Europe’s Next Top Model? – Bloomberg
How One Huge American Retailer Ignored the Internet and Won – Bloomberg (Dec 21, 2016)
The prevailing narrative is rightly that Amazon is taking on all comers and winning when it comes to share of retail and especially share of growth in e-commerce. That trend is undeniable. But it’s interesting to read about TJ Maxx and Marshalls apparently being somewhat immune to these trends.
via How One Huge American Retailer Ignored the Internet and Won – Bloomberg
Amazon plots new course for package deliveries – Financial Times (Dec 19, 2016)
Amazon is outgrowing the US delivery infrastructure, especially when it comes to Christmas sales, and so is making increasing investments in its own logistics operation beyond warehouses and fulfillment centers. The challenge here is the difference between average daily load and peak load at busy times, but Amazon seems willing to invest for the peak.
via Amazon plots new course for package deliveries
Angry Amazon pilots are warning last-minute shoppers that holiday deliveries may be late – Recode (Dec 19, 2016)
This piece highlights two things – Amazon’s ongoing challenges with ensuring that its deliveries arrive on time, and the complexities of getting deeper into logistics with flying its own planes. Anecdotally, I saw several packages from Amazon delayed by one or more days in early December, so the existing system clearly is feeling the strain.
via Angry Amazon pilots are warning last-minute shoppers that holiday deliveries may be late – Recode
55 percent of online shoppers start their product searches on Amazon – Recode (Sep 27, 2016)
This data – from a survey by BloomReach – shows just how powerful Amazon has become as a shopping destination: over half of online shoppers start with this single destination, versus just 28% at a search engine like Google, which would give them multiple destination options. Other retailers combined accounted for just 16% of the total, so Amazon is totally in a class of its own here.
via 55 percent of online shoppers start their product searches on Amazon – Recode