Retail Dive | May 4,2022 With its second go at the NewFronts, Amazon emphasized how its video offerings are implementing more advanced technology that could benefit advertisers and content creators seeking an enhanced streaming experience. Virtual Product Placement could be of particular interest, as Prime Video is a major streaming destination but doesn’t support traditional ads. Product placement deals have historically been limited to whatever advertisers had an agreement

CNBC | March 31,2022 Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant will soon tell users when items they’ve had an eye on are about to be on sale. The company announced on Thursday that Alexa will notify Prime customers up to 24 hours in advance of upcoming sales on items in their Amazon wish list and shopping cart, or items that were marked “saved for later” on the platform. The feature will work with fourth-generation Echo smart speakers and newer. For example, if a customer is looking at

Insider | February 23, 2022 Whole Foods Market announced the opening of its first-ever store touting Amazon's Just Walk Out technology in Washington D.C. on Wednesday. The technology from Whole Foods allows shoppers to skip waiting in line for the cash register altogether, although there will also be a self-checkout option for customers as well. The "Just Walk Out" service requires shoppers to scan in with an in-store code at the store's entry gate. Customers are expected to

Forbes | January 22, 2022 Livestream shopping is projected to rake in a massive $480 billion in China this year, according to eMarketer, but only $11 billion in the United States, according to Foresight Research. That could change quickly, however: Facebook, Amazon, TikTok, Twitter, and other tech giants like Pinterest are jumping into livestream shopping hard. Live social shopping is certainly big in the verticals you might imagine: fashion, beauty, fitness, home decor. But

USA Today | January 25, 2022 Amazon Go is moving to the suburbs. The tech giant said it plans to open a new type of store aimed at serving customers in suburban-area locations. The first one will open in Mill Creek, Washington, in the coming months. Amazon also plans to open a second Go store in the Los Angeles area. Like other Go stores, the location will leverage technology allowing customers to make purchases without ever interacting with a cashier. Using the Amazon app, y

Vurge | September 8, 2021 Amazon is bringing its cashierless “Just Walk Out” technology to two new Whole Foods locations next year. Washington, DC and Sherman Oaks, CA will soon allow customers to pay at a traditional self-checkout or to have the new technology bill them when they leave the store. Amazon's latest technology is a series of cameras and sensors which automatically detect what people pick up off shelves. Just Walk Out originally debuted in small Amazon Go conveni

Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal | June 28, 2021 Amazon has spent billions of dollars to get within easy shipping distance of U.S. consumers. However, as a new research report points out, traditional-retail rival Target is already there. MarketWatch has a story, which noted Amazon's spending just in 2020 to build out infrastructure. Much of the $35 billion investment went toward improvements in fulfillment, adding new distribution centers, sorting facilities and locker h

CSA | June 23, 2021 The numbers are starting to come in for Amazon Prime Day 2021. Total online revenue surpassed $10.9 billion in online revenue recorded on Cyber Monday, the largest single online shopping day in U.S. history. The first day of Prime Day is the biggest online sales day in the U.S. for 2021 so far, followed by the second day. However data from Numerator shows the average Prime Day order size was $44.75, down 18% from $54.64 on Prime Day 2020 and 24% less than

WWD | April 29, 2021 Amazon's first quarter earnings report, the e-commerce giant easily beat expectations on earnings and revenue, with sales growth 44 percent year-over-year. Revenue blew past the $104.47 billion expected by more than $4 billion, clocking in at $108.52 billion, and net sales hit $108.5 billion, a significant jump compared to the $75.5 billion from the first quarter of last year. Boasting more than 200 million paid Prime members worldwide, the company believ

Forbes | April 20, 2021 Amazon will be opening its first-ever hair salon. “We have designed this salon for customers to come and experience some of the best technology, hair care products and stylists in the industry,” said John Boumphrey, U.K. country manager at Amazon. The Amazon Salon will be take over a two-story property in Spitalfields, one of East London’s trendiest retail destinations, and include high-tech spins on traditional salons. Augmented reality (AR) technolog

The Street | April 12, 2021 Amazon launched a new private-label food and snack brand, called Aplenty. The brand features hundreds of products, including pita chips, crackers, and mini cookies, as well as condiments, frozen foods, baking needs and more, media reports say. The brand offerings will be available online and in-store at Amazon Fresh. The Aplenty brand follows several trends that have developed amid the pandemic, such as increase in own brand product development and

WWD | February 2, 2021 Amazon’s earnings announcement went over its largest quarter by revenue ever — $125 billion in sales — alongside the news that chief executive officer and founder Jeff Bezos will step away as CEO to become executive chair of the Amazon board in the third quarter of 2021. Judging by the numbers, he’s going out on a high note. With revenue that shot past the $100 billion revenue threshold, a first for the company, Amazon Inc. shattered expectations for t

Bloomberg | January 5, 2021 Amazon announced buying 11 used Boeing 767-300 planes for its fast-growing air cargo operation. Aircraft is coming from Delta Air Lines Inc. and WestJet Airlines Ltd. The WestJet aircraft are currently being converted from passenger to cargo use and will join Amazon’s fleet this year. The Delta jets will start flying routes in 2022. By the end of next year, Amazon expects to have more than 85 planes in service, a spokesperson said. Seattle-based Am

Forbes | November 17, 2020 Amazon unveiled Amazon Pharmacy for customers to buy prescription drugs on its site with Prime members getting unlimited, free two-day deliveries. The news took a toll on shares of drugstore chains CVS Health, Walgreens Boots Alliance, and Rite Aid. Nearly 70% of consumers who regularly take prescription medication said they pick up prescriptions at their local pharmacies with 29% saying they get it by mail, almost three-fifths of Amazon Prime memb

Retail Dive | November 4, 2020 Amazon's new 2020 holiday ad, features 17-year-old French ballet dancer Taïs Vinolo. The ad follows Vinolo as she practices as lead in a ballet performance which is then postponed due to COVID-19. As the pandemic makes for an uncertain holiday season, Amazon's ad campaign is meant to convey the communal resilience shown throughout this year, said Simon Morris, vice president of global creative. Marketing takes on a unique role to recreate holida

Numerator | October 28, 2020 Amazon Prime Day is officially over this year and even with the two-month delay, Amazon's biggest sale event of the year delivered in spades. Usually scheduled for a mid-July date, Amazon Prime Day ran from October 13th through October 14th this year but the event didn't skip a beat. Some of the major takeaways from our Amazon Prime Day 2020 Report include: 36% of U.S. Households shopped on Prime Day, a significant increase from 23% in 2019 Near

Forbes | September 15, 2020 Many luxury brands have rebuffed Amazon in the past because they want to have more control over the customer experience. But Alex Bolen, CEO of Oscar de la Renta, points out “This idea that you don’t want to speak to a customer where she’s spending a lot of her time is a mistake.” Amazon launches its Luxury Stores experience, with Oscar de la Renta as the first brand to open a storefront. “Luxury Stores is currently offered in the U.S. by invitatio

Progressive Grocer | September 4, 2020 Amazon is expanding its partnership with department store chain Kohl's in a big, new way. Kohl's will now allow an Amazon grocery store to occupy space at a Kohl's store in La Verne, California. The approximately 37,000-square-foot grocery store will be separated by a wall connecting to the existing Kohl’s next door. There's no timetable yet for when the store would open. Since 2017, Kohl's has been reducing selling space in some stores

Forbes | September 2, 2020 Walmart announced yesterday that it plans to debut its new Walmart+ subscription service on September 15, 2020. For $98 per year, Walmart+ members will have access to a number of shopping benefits with Walmart, including an Amazon Prime-like “unlimited” amount of free deliveries from its stores. Compared to Amazon Prime: Walmart+ is cheaper. Walmart+ is $98 per year, while Amazon Prime goes for $119 per year. Walmart also gives a 15-day trial period

Retail Dive | August 27, 2020 Amazon’s long-anticipated supermarket in Woodland Hills, California, opened Thursday morning, the company announced in a blog post. The store, which carries the Amazon Fresh brand, will be open daily from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Amazon Fresh customers can use Amazon’s automated Dash Cart technology to avoid the checkout line. They can also employ the company’s Alexa technology to handle shopping lists and find their way around the store. The store offe