Amazon\u00a0says it has seen a sharp rise in the speed of its Prime deliveries this year.
\nThe eCommerce giant\u00a0announced\u00a0Tuesday (July 30) that it made more than 5 billion same-day or next-day deliveries so far this year, up more than 30% year over year and a company record.
\nMost of the 5 billion items were delivered \u201con behalf of independent sellers using\u00a0Fulfillment by Amazon,\u201d the company said in a news release. \u201cMore than 60% of the units sold in Amazon\u2019s store come from independent sellers.\u201d
\nAmazon says it reached this goal by expanding its same-day delivery service to more than 120 metro areas in the U.S., shortening the distance deliveries had to travel by\u00a0regionalizing its fulfillment network.
\nThe company announced last year that it was doubling its same-day delivery centers, along with plans to recruit smaller, local businesses to assist in its\u00a0last-mile delivery efforts.
\nIn addition, the company says it has also improved inventory placement and ensured that in-demand products are stocked locally and in the proper buildings for each region.
\nThe 5 billion figure is up from the\u00a02 billion-plus number the company reported for the first quarter of 2024 in April.
\nPYMNTS last week wrote about Amazon Prime as an example of\u00a0\u201cproduct market fit,\u201d\u00a0the concept of recognizing the importance of aligning products with market demands.
\n\u201cMany loyalty initiatives flounder because they focus inwardly on the program mechanics rather than outwardly on understanding genuine customer needs,\u201d that report said.
\nPrime, launched in 2005, was originally designed to ease customer frustration with shipping times, focusing at first on delivering the loyalty program perks that its top customers desired, gradually expanding its offerings as time went on.
\n\u201cAmazon listened to its customers, understood their pain points, and continually invested to acquire and retain more members and transform them into brand advocates,\u201d PYMNTS wrote.
\n\u201cThe emphasis here is on investing in the customer rather than the product. In today\u2019s landscape, instant gratification holds heightened significance, particularly evident in subscription loyalty programs like Amazon Prime, where members receive instant benefits.\u00a0Amazon Prime members\u00a0spend nearly twice as much annually compared to non-Prime members.\u201d
\nFor all PYMNTS retail coverage, subscribe to the daily\u00a0Retail Newsletter.
\nThe post Amazon Sees 30% Rise in Same-Day and Next-Day Delivery\u00a0 appeared first on PYMNTS.com.
\n", "content_text": "Amazon\u00a0says it has seen a sharp rise in the speed of its Prime deliveries this year.\nThe eCommerce giant\u00a0announced\u00a0Tuesday (July 30) that it made more than 5 billion same-day or next-day deliveries so far this year, up more than 30% year over year and a company record.\nMost of the 5 billion items were delivered \u201con behalf of independent sellers using\u00a0Fulfillment by Amazon,\u201d the company said in a news release. \u201cMore than 60% of the units sold in Amazon\u2019s store come from independent sellers.\u201d\nAmazon says it reached this goal by expanding its same-day delivery service to more than 120 metro areas in the U.S., shortening the distance deliveries had to travel by\u00a0regionalizing its fulfillment network.\nThe company announced last year that it was doubling its same-day delivery centers, along with plans to recruit smaller, local businesses to assist in its\u00a0last-mile delivery efforts.\nIn addition, the company says it has also improved inventory placement and ensured that in-demand products are stocked locally and in the proper buildings for each region.\nThe 5 billion figure is up from the\u00a02 billion-plus number the company reported for the first quarter of 2024 in April.\nPYMNTS last week wrote about Amazon Prime as an example of\u00a0\u201cproduct market fit,\u201d\u00a0the concept of recognizing the importance of aligning products with market demands.\n\u201cMany loyalty initiatives flounder because they focus inwardly on the program mechanics rather than outwardly on understanding genuine customer needs,\u201d that report said.\nPrime, launched in 2005, was originally designed to ease customer frustration with shipping times, focusing at first on delivering the loyalty program perks that its top customers desired, gradually expanding its offerings as time went on.\n\u201cAmazon listened to its customers, understood their pain points, and continually invested to acquire and retain more members and transform them into brand advocates,\u201d PYMNTS wrote.\n\u201cThe emphasis here is on investing in the customer rather than the product. In today\u2019s landscape, instant gratification holds heightened significance, particularly evident in subscription loyalty programs like Amazon Prime, where members receive instant benefits.\u00a0Amazon Prime members\u00a0spend nearly twice as much annually compared to non-Prime members.\u201d\n\nFor all PYMNTS retail coverage, subscribe to the daily\u00a0Retail Newsletter.\n\nThe post Amazon Sees 30% Rise in Same-Day and Next-Day Delivery\u00a0 appeared first on PYMNTS.com.", "date_published": "2024-07-30T09:30:59-04:00", "date_modified": "2024-07-31T11:47:30-04:00", "authors": [ { "name": "PYMNTS", "url": "https://www.pymnts.com/author/pymnts/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/f05cc0fdcc9e387e4f3570c17158c503?s=512&d=blank&r=g" } ], "author": { "name": "PYMNTS", "url": "https://www.pymnts.com/author/pymnts/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/f05cc0fdcc9e387e4f3570c17158c503?s=512&d=blank&r=g" }, "image": "https://www.pymnts.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Amazon-Prime-same-day-delivery.jpg", "tags": [ "Amazon", "Amazon Prime", "delivery eCommerce", "Fulfillment by Amazon", "last-mile delivery", "News", "next-day delivery", "PYMNTS News", "Retail", "same-day delivery", "What's Hot" ] }, { "id": "https://www.pymnts.com/?p=2015257", "url": "https://www.pymnts.com/amazon/2024/report-amazon-nearing-launch-of-alexa-paid-tier/", "title": "Report: Amazon Nearing Launch of Alexa Paid Tier", "content_html": "Amazon reportedly plans to launch a paid tier of Alexa as soon as this month.
\nThe paid tier will offer a version of the voice assistant that has been dubbed \u201cRemarkable Alexa,\u201d is built on a new tech stack and offers greater capabilities, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported Tuesday (July 23), citing unnamed sources.
\nRemarkable Alexa will incorporate more generative artificial intelligence (AI) than the current version of the voice assistant and will provide users with more seamless control of smart home devices by using their voice, according to the report.
\n\u201cAlexa is about to get a lot smarter,\u201d Jeff Bezos said in December 2023 during a podcast interview, hinting that a new version may be on the way, per the report.
\nThe company has not yet determined a price for the new paid tier, the report said.
\nThe development of Remarkable Alexa began when Amazon CEO Andy Jassy urged teams to find a way to monetize Alexa and Amazon\u2019s Echo speakers, according to the report.
\nCurrently, although hundreds of millions of people own Alexa-enabled devices, the Echo speakers are not delivering a payoff for the company because people are using them for free apps, the report said.
\nJassy\u2019s effort to monetize the devices and the voice assistant mark a change from Amazon founder\u2019s Jeff Bezos\u2019s strategy to develop devices based on \u201cdownstream impact,\u201d or DSI, per the report.
\nThat strategy allowed selling devices at cost or at a loss if they generated sales down the line \u2014 as when the sale of a Kindle eReader leads to the sale of eBooks to read on that device, according to the report.
\nThe DSI strategy has not paid off in the case of Echo because customers have used it primarily for free services such as checking the weather rather than to place a meaningful amount of eCommerce orders, the report said.
\nAn Amazon spokeswoman told the WSJ that the company\u2019s devices business has established profitable businesses and is prepared to continue doing so, per the report.
\n\u201cHundreds of millions of Amazon devices are used by customers around the world, and to us, there is not greater measure of success,\u201d the spokeswoman said in the report.
\nAmazon has been clear about its intentions to charge a subscription for a tiered Alexa service since September 2023, and improvements to voice technology driven by AI may force the issue, PYMNTS reported in April.
\nThe post Report: Amazon Nearing Launch of Alexa Paid Tier appeared first on PYMNTS.com.
\n", "content_text": "Amazon reportedly plans to launch a paid tier of Alexa as soon as this month.\nThe paid tier will offer a version of the voice assistant that has been dubbed \u201cRemarkable Alexa,\u201d is built on a new tech stack and offers greater capabilities, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported Tuesday (July 23), citing unnamed sources.\nRemarkable Alexa will incorporate more generative artificial intelligence (AI) than the current version of the voice assistant and will provide users with more seamless control of smart home devices by using their voice, according to the report.\n\u201cAlexa is about to get a lot smarter,\u201d Jeff Bezos said in December 2023 during a podcast interview, hinting that a new version may be on the way, per the report.\nThe company has not yet determined a price for the new paid tier, the report said.\nThe development of Remarkable Alexa began when Amazon CEO Andy Jassy urged teams to find a way to monetize Alexa and Amazon\u2019s Echo speakers, according to the report.\nCurrently, although hundreds of millions of people own Alexa-enabled devices, the Echo speakers are not delivering a payoff for the company because people are using them for free apps, the report said.\nJassy\u2019s effort to monetize the devices and the voice assistant mark a change from Amazon founder\u2019s Jeff Bezos\u2019s strategy to develop devices based on \u201cdownstream impact,\u201d or DSI, per the report.\nThat strategy allowed selling devices at cost or at a loss if they generated sales down the line \u2014 as when the sale of a Kindle eReader leads to the sale of eBooks to read on that device, according to the report.\nThe DSI strategy has not paid off in the case of Echo because customers have used it primarily for free services such as checking the weather rather than to place a meaningful amount of eCommerce orders, the report said.\nAn Amazon spokeswoman told the WSJ that the company\u2019s devices business has established profitable businesses and is prepared to continue doing so, per the report.\n\u201cHundreds of millions of Amazon devices are used by customers around the world, and to us, there is not greater measure of success,\u201d the spokeswoman said in the report.\nAmazon has been clear about its intentions to charge a subscription for a tiered Alexa service since September 2023, and improvements to voice technology driven by AI may force the issue, PYMNTS reported in April.\nThe post Report: Amazon Nearing Launch of Alexa Paid Tier appeared first on PYMNTS.com.", "date_published": "2024-07-23T12:11:33-04:00", "date_modified": "2024-07-23T12:11:33-04:00", "authors": [ { "name": "PYMNTS", "url": "https://www.pymnts.com/author/pymnts/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/f05cc0fdcc9e387e4f3570c17158c503?s=512&d=blank&r=g" } ], "author": { "name": "PYMNTS", "url": "https://www.pymnts.com/author/pymnts/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/f05cc0fdcc9e387e4f3570c17158c503?s=512&d=blank&r=g" }, "image": "https://www.pymnts.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Amazon-Alexa-paid-tier.png", "tags": [ "Alexa", "Amazon", "Amazon Alexa", "ecommerce", "News", "PYMNTS News", "Retail", "subscriptions", "voice assistants", "voice technology", "What's Hot" ] }, { "id": "https://www.pymnts.com/?p=2014627", "url": "https://www.pymnts.com/amazon/2024/crowdstrike-outage-hits-amazon-at-a-key-moment-for-shopper-loyalty/", "title": "CrowdStrike Outage Hits Amazon at a Key Moment for Shopper Loyalty", "content_html": "With the CrowdStrike outage having come just one day after the close of Amazon\u2019s blockbuster Prime Day event, the eCommerce giant could see the outage impact deliveries at a critical time on the company\u2019s calendar.
\nIn the wake of the outage, eCommerce retailers have themselves in an unfortunate position. The disruption impacted shipping giants UPS and FedEx, leading them to warn consumers about potential delays, which could impact merchants\u2019 ability to meet their customers\u2019 demand for fast and reliable delivery.
\nFor Amazon\u2019s part, Prime Day deliveries may also be delayed. For instance, a self-described participant in the company\u2019s Seller Fulfilled Prime program, which enables businesses to sell via Prime from their own warehouses, recently took to the official seller discussion board noting that Next Day Delivery orders are facing delays.
\n\u201cThis is something that we cannot foresee and control. Unfortunately, there is no news from Amazon on what things to do with this situation,\u201d the seller stated. \u201c\u2026I hope someone gives us some information about this. This will mess up our metrics and it\u2019s causing us a lot of stress.\u201d
\nAmazon posted a workaround on Friday (July 19). According to the post, the outage affected both Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) instances and Amazon WorkSpaces personal virtual desktops that run on Windows and use the CrowdStrike software. It recommended users fix the issue by allowing the CrowdStrike Falcon Sensor agent to update correctly.
\nThe post also noted that if a user\u2019s device uses what\u2019s called instance store volumes \u2014 a type of storage directly attached to the host computer \u2014 any data on those volumes will be lost if the device is stopped, put into hibernation or terminated. In such cases, the data is securely erased. For further details, it referred users to the information on Amazon EC2 instance store.
\nSlower than expected shipping can have a significant impact on shoppers\u2019 satisfaction. The report \u201cTracking the Digital Payments Takeover: Catching the Coming eCommerce Wave,\u201d a PYMNTS Intelligence and\u00a0Amazon Web Services (AWS) collaboration, found that 27% \u00a0of consumers cited delivery delays as issues they experienced with online purchases.
\nThis spells bad news for Amazon: the outage, which began late Thursday (July 18) came just one day after the close of Amazon\u2019s Prime Day event July 16 and 17. As such, impact on shipping could affect customers\u2019 satisfaction with the eCommerce giant at a time when considerably more shoppers will feel the impact than they would at other times of the year.
\nDuring the saving event, Amazon saw surging sales. In a typical day, the company averages about $1.6 billion in sales, per data from its Q1 2024 earnings report\u00a0 \u2014 the most recent period on record \u2014 showing that the eCommerce giant brought in $143.3 billion in sales in the three-month span. In contrast, over the Prime Day two-day event, the retailer is estimated to have brought in $14.2 billion in sales \u2014 nearly five times the company\u2019s average haul for a two-day period.
\nThese shipping delays are far from the only way that the CrowdStrike outage could be affecting retail merchants. Reports have circulated of the event impacting retailers\u2019 ability to do everything from accepting payments to analyzing sales data to even staying open.
\nThe CrowdStrike outage comes at a particularly inopportune moment for Amazon, right on the heels of its highly anticipated Prime Day. As merchants and consumers alike navigate this turbulence, the incident underscores the fragility of modern digital infrastructures and the far-reaching consequences that technical failures can have on even the most resilient retail giants.
\nThe post CrowdStrike Outage Hits Amazon at a Key Moment for Shopper Loyalty appeared first on PYMNTS.com.
\n", "content_text": "With the CrowdStrike outage having come just one day after the close of Amazon\u2019s blockbuster Prime Day event, the eCommerce giant could see the outage impact deliveries at a critical time on the company\u2019s calendar.\nIn the wake of the outage, eCommerce retailers have themselves in an unfortunate position. The disruption impacted shipping giants UPS and FedEx, leading them to warn consumers about potential delays, which could impact merchants\u2019 ability to meet their customers\u2019 demand for fast and reliable delivery.\nFor Amazon\u2019s part, Prime Day deliveries may also be delayed. For instance, a self-described participant in the company\u2019s Seller Fulfilled Prime program, which enables businesses to sell via Prime from their own warehouses, recently took to the official seller discussion board noting that Next Day Delivery orders are facing delays.\n\u201cThis is something that we cannot foresee and control. Unfortunately, there is no news from Amazon on what things to do with this situation,\u201d the seller stated. \u201c\u2026I hope someone gives us some information about this. This will mess up our metrics and it\u2019s causing us a lot of stress.\u201d\nAmazon posted a workaround on Friday (July 19). According to the post, the outage affected both Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) instances and Amazon WorkSpaces personal virtual desktops that run on Windows and use the CrowdStrike software. It recommended users fix the issue by allowing the CrowdStrike Falcon Sensor agent to update correctly.\nThe post also noted that if a user\u2019s device uses what\u2019s called instance store volumes \u2014 a type of storage directly attached to the host computer \u2014 any data on those volumes will be lost if the device is stopped, put into hibernation or terminated. In such cases, the data is securely erased. For further details, it referred users to the information on Amazon EC2 instance store.\nSlower than expected shipping can have a significant impact on shoppers\u2019 satisfaction. The report \u201cTracking the Digital Payments Takeover: Catching the Coming eCommerce Wave,\u201d a PYMNTS Intelligence and\u00a0Amazon Web Services (AWS) collaboration, found that 27% \u00a0of consumers cited delivery delays as issues they experienced with online purchases.\nThis spells bad news for Amazon: the outage, which began late Thursday (July 18) came just one day after the close of Amazon\u2019s Prime Day event July 16 and 17. As such, impact on shipping could affect customers\u2019 satisfaction with the eCommerce giant at a time when considerably more shoppers will feel the impact than they would at other times of the year.\nDuring the saving event, Amazon saw surging sales. In a typical day, the company averages about $1.6 billion in sales, per data from its Q1 2024 earnings report\u00a0 \u2014 the most recent period on record \u2014 showing that the eCommerce giant brought in $143.3 billion in sales in the three-month span. In contrast, over the Prime Day two-day event, the retailer is estimated to have brought in $14.2 billion in sales \u2014 nearly five times the company\u2019s average haul for a two-day period.\nThese shipping delays are far from the only way that the CrowdStrike outage could be affecting retail merchants. Reports have circulated of the event impacting retailers\u2019 ability to do everything from accepting payments to analyzing sales data to even staying open.\nThe CrowdStrike outage comes at a particularly inopportune moment for Amazon, right on the heels of its highly anticipated Prime Day. As merchants and consumers alike navigate this turbulence, the incident underscores the fragility of modern digital infrastructures and the far-reaching consequences that technical failures can have on even the most resilient retail giants.\nThe post CrowdStrike Outage Hits Amazon at a Key Moment for Shopper Loyalty appeared first on PYMNTS.com.", "date_published": "2024-07-22T14:57:20-04:00", "date_modified": "2024-07-22T14:57:20-04:00", "authors": [ { "name": "PYMNTS", "url": "https://www.pymnts.com/author/pymnts/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/f05cc0fdcc9e387e4f3570c17158c503?s=512&d=blank&r=g" } ], "author": { "name": "PYMNTS", "url": "https://www.pymnts.com/author/pymnts/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/f05cc0fdcc9e387e4f3570c17158c503?s=512&d=blank&r=g" }, "image": "https://www.pymnts.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Amazon-Prime-Day-CrowdStrike-outage.jpg", "tags": [ "Amazon", "Connected Economy", "CrowdStrike", "Crowdstrike outage", "delivery", "ecommerce", "FedEx", "News", "online shopping", "Prime Day", "PYMNTS News", "Retail", "UPS" ] }, { "id": "https://www.pymnts.com/?p=2013221", "url": "https://www.pymnts.com/amazon/2024/prime-day-sales-climb-11percent-as-shoppers-spend-14-billion/", "title": "Prime Day Sales Climb 11% as Shoppers Spend $14 Billion, Setting Record", "content_html": "American shoppers reportedly spent $14.2 billion during Amazon\u2019s Prime Day event, setting a record for the number of items purchased.
\nThat\u2019s an 11% increase over last year for the 48-hour eCommerce sale, Bloomberg reported Thursday (July 18), citing data from Adobe, which found consumers taking advantage of high markdowns on electronics, clothing and small appliances.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s clear now that the Prime Day event has been a catalyst across these major categories, with discounts deep enough for consumers to hit the buy button and upgrade items in their homes,\u201d Adobe analyst Vivek Pandya said.
\nAccording to Bloomberg, Adobe measures total online spend during Prime Day, as rival retailers push their own deals, leading consumers to visit multiple sites for comparison shopping. The $14.2 billion sales figure was in line with Adobe\u2019s earlier predictions.
\nAs PYMNTS reported earlier this week, Prime Day \u2014 along with Walmart and Target\u2019s similar summer deals offerings (Walmart+ Week and Target Circle Week) \u2014 comes as consumers increasingly wait until sales events to make major purchases.
\n\u201cIn the past year, we\u2019ve seen engagement in our promotions with higher-than-expected volume around popular seasonal moments,\u201d Katie Stratton, chief growth officer at Target-owned on-demand delivery aggregator Shipt, told PYMNTS.
\nPYMNTS Intelligence research shows that half of consumers have switched to cheaper retail merchants in response to inflation, while 45% of low-income consumers, 41% of middle-income consumers, and 28% of high-income consumers said that they had opted for lower-quality products to reduce expenses for the same reason.
\n\u201cCustomers are shopping circulars to find the best deals, and \u2026 we\u2019ve seen an uptick in the use of coupons,\u201d Katie Kobus, vice president of marketing at Save A Lot, told PYMNTS in an interview posted on Tuesday (July 16).
\nAmazon issued a news release Thursday saying that Prime Day had set a record, with more items sold than any previous Prime Day. The company did not offer specific sales figures.
\n\u201cRufus, Amazon\u2019s new AI-powered conversational shopping assistant, helped millions of customers shop Amazon\u2019s wide selection quickly and easily,\u201d the release noted.
\nAmazon had first beta-tested Rufus in February before making it available to all customers last week.
\nThe generative artificial intelligence-powered assistant answers questions on various shopping needs and products, trained on Amazon\u2019s product catalog, customer reviews, community Q&As and information from across the web.
\n\u201cWhile it\u2019s still early days for both generative AI and Rufus, we\u2019re excited to hear customers are using Rufus to help them make more informed shopping decisions,\u201d Rajiv Mehta, Amazon\u2019s vice president of search and conversational shopping, said in a news release last week. \u201cAs we continue to grow and improve upon Rufus, we\u2019re looking forward to seeing how customers continue to use it to find exactly what they need or want in our store.\u201d
\nThe post Prime Day Sales Climb 11% as Shoppers Spend $14 Billion, Setting Record appeared first on PYMNTS.com.
\n", "content_text": "American shoppers reportedly spent $14.2 billion during Amazon\u2019s Prime Day event, setting a record for the number of items purchased.\nThat\u2019s an 11% increase over last year for the 48-hour eCommerce sale, Bloomberg reported Thursday (July 18), citing data from Adobe, which found consumers taking advantage of high markdowns on electronics, clothing and small appliances.\n\u201cIt\u2019s clear now that the Prime Day event has been a catalyst across these major categories, with discounts deep enough for consumers to hit the buy button and upgrade items in their homes,\u201d Adobe analyst Vivek Pandya said.\nAccording to Bloomberg, Adobe measures total online spend during Prime Day, as rival retailers push their own deals, leading consumers to visit multiple sites for comparison shopping. The $14.2 billion sales figure was in line with Adobe\u2019s earlier predictions.\nAs PYMNTS reported earlier this week, Prime Day \u2014 along with Walmart and Target\u2019s similar summer deals offerings (Walmart+ Week and Target Circle Week) \u2014 comes as consumers increasingly wait until sales events to make major purchases.\n\u201cIn the past year, we\u2019ve seen engagement in our promotions with higher-than-expected volume around popular seasonal moments,\u201d Katie Stratton, chief growth officer at Target-owned on-demand delivery aggregator Shipt, told PYMNTS.\nPYMNTS Intelligence research shows that half of consumers have switched to cheaper retail merchants in response to inflation, while 45% of low-income consumers, 41% of middle-income consumers, and 28% of high-income consumers said that they had opted for lower-quality products to reduce expenses for the same reason.\n\u201cCustomers are shopping circulars to find the best deals, and \u2026 we\u2019ve seen an uptick in the use of coupons,\u201d Katie Kobus, vice president of marketing at Save A Lot, told PYMNTS in an interview posted on Tuesday (July 16).\nAmazon issued a news release Thursday saying that Prime Day had set a record, with more items sold than any previous Prime Day. The company did not offer specific sales figures.\n\u201cRufus, Amazon\u2019s new AI-powered conversational shopping assistant, helped millions of customers shop Amazon\u2019s wide selection quickly and easily,\u201d the release noted.\nAmazon had first beta-tested Rufus in February before making it available to all customers last week.\nThe generative artificial intelligence-powered assistant answers questions on various shopping needs and products, trained on Amazon\u2019s product catalog, customer reviews, community Q&As and information from across the web.\n\u201cWhile it\u2019s still early days for both generative AI and Rufus, we\u2019re excited to hear customers are using Rufus to help them make more informed shopping decisions,\u201d Rajiv Mehta, Amazon\u2019s vice president of search and conversational shopping, said in a news release last week. \u201cAs we continue to grow and improve upon Rufus, we\u2019re looking forward to seeing how customers continue to use it to find exactly what they need or want in our store.\u201d\nThe post Prime Day Sales Climb 11% as Shoppers Spend $14 Billion, Setting Record appeared first on PYMNTS.com.", "date_published": "2024-07-18T14:55:00-04:00", "date_modified": "2024-07-18T14:55:00-04:00", "authors": [ { "name": "PYMNTS", "url": "https://www.pymnts.com/author/pymnts/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/f05cc0fdcc9e387e4f3570c17158c503?s=512&d=blank&r=g" } ], "author": { "name": "PYMNTS", "url": "https://www.pymnts.com/author/pymnts/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/f05cc0fdcc9e387e4f3570c17158c503?s=512&d=blank&r=g" }, "image": "https://www.pymnts.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Prime-Day.jpg", "tags": [ "Amazon", "Amazon Prime", "ecommerce", "News", "online shopping", "Prime Day", "Prime Day Sales", "PYMNTS News", "Retail", "shopping", "What's Hot" ] }, { "id": "https://www.pymnts.com/?p=2011905", "url": "https://www.pymnts.com/amazon/2024/amazon-prime-day-sales-outpace-2023-event-in-first-hours/", "title": "Amazon Prime Day Sales Outpace 2023 Event in First Hours", "content_html": "The first hours of Amazon\u2019s Prime Day reportedly saw sales outpacing those of last year\u2019s event.
\nDuring the first seven hours of the event on Tuesday (July 16), sales were up almost 12%, Bloomberg reported Tuesday, citing data from Momentum Commerce, which manages Amazon sales on behalf of brands and generates about $7 billion in annual sales on the platform.
\nMarket research firm Numerator said that its sample of households found that the average household spent about $100 during the event, as of noon New York time, according to the report.
\nPredicting sales for all retailers on the platform across the entire two-day event, Adobe expects to see an 11% increase to $14 billion, while EMarketer forecasts a 5.5% rise to $8.2 billion, the report said.
\n\u201cConsumers continue to spend, but they do so strategically, which can benefit a sale like Prime Day,\u201d Sky Canaves, an analyst at EMarketer, said in the report.
\nAmazon achieved its highest-ever sales volumes during last year\u2019s Prime Day event, with 375 million items sold worldwide and Prime members saving more than $2.5 billion on millions of deals across the Amazon stores in July 2023, the company said at the time.
\nThat Prime Day also marked a milestone as the biggest event ever for independent sellers within Amazon\u2019s marketplace. The majority of these sellers were small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), and their sales growth on Amazon\u2019s platform during the event surpassed that of Amazon\u2019s own retail business.
\nWhen announcing this year\u2019s event, which is the 10th ever, Doug Herrington, CEO of Worldwide Amazon Stores, said in an April 26 post on LinkedIn: \u201cWe are working hard and inventing new ways to pack even more great savings into the event this year.\u201d
\nWith the rising popularity of Amazon\u2019s Prime Day, other retailers have sought to hold their own among bargain-seeking shoppers by joining the deals days battle.
\nAmong the competitors are Target Circle Week, which ran July 7-13 and was open to all members of its free loyalty program, and Walmart Deals, which ran July 8-11 and was open to everyone, not just members. Walmart also held an earlier members-only event.
\nThe post Amazon Prime Day Sales Outpace 2023 Event in First Hours appeared first on PYMNTS.com.
\n", "content_text": "The first hours of Amazon\u2019s Prime Day reportedly saw sales outpacing those of last year\u2019s event.\nDuring the first seven hours of the event on Tuesday (July 16), sales were up almost 12%, Bloomberg reported Tuesday, citing data from Momentum Commerce, which manages Amazon sales on behalf of brands and generates about $7 billion in annual sales on the platform.\nMarket research firm Numerator said that its sample of households found that the average household spent about $100 during the event, as of noon New York time, according to the report.\nPredicting sales for all retailers on the platform across the entire two-day event, Adobe expects to see an 11% increase to $14 billion, while EMarketer forecasts a 5.5% rise to $8.2 billion, the report said.\n\u201cConsumers continue to spend, but they do so strategically, which can benefit a sale like Prime Day,\u201d Sky Canaves, an analyst at EMarketer, said in the report.\nAmazon achieved its highest-ever sales volumes during last year\u2019s Prime Day event, with 375 million items sold worldwide and Prime members saving more than $2.5 billion on millions of deals across the Amazon stores in July 2023, the company said at the time.\nThat Prime Day also marked a milestone as the biggest event ever for independent sellers within Amazon\u2019s marketplace. The majority of these sellers were small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), and their sales growth on Amazon\u2019s platform during the event surpassed that of Amazon\u2019s own retail business.\nWhen announcing this year\u2019s event, which is the 10th ever, Doug Herrington, CEO of Worldwide Amazon Stores, said in an April 26 post on LinkedIn: \u201cWe are working hard and inventing new ways to pack even more great savings into the event this year.\u201d\nWith the rising popularity of Amazon\u2019s Prime Day, other retailers have sought to hold their own among bargain-seeking shoppers by joining the deals days battle.\nAmong the competitors are Target Circle Week, which ran July 7-13 and was open to all members of its free loyalty program, and Walmart Deals, which ran July 8-11 and was open to everyone, not just members. Walmart also held an earlier members-only event.\nThe post Amazon Prime Day Sales Outpace 2023 Event in First Hours appeared first on PYMNTS.com.", "date_published": "2024-07-16T17:28:13-04:00", "date_modified": "2024-07-16T17:28:13-04:00", "authors": [ { "name": "PYMNTS", "url": "https://www.pymnts.com/author/pymnts/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/f05cc0fdcc9e387e4f3570c17158c503?s=512&d=blank&r=g" } ], "author": { "name": "PYMNTS", "url": "https://www.pymnts.com/author/pymnts/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/f05cc0fdcc9e387e4f3570c17158c503?s=512&d=blank&r=g" }, "image": "https://www.pymnts.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Amazon-Prime-Days.jpg", "tags": [ "Amazon", "Amazon Prime Days", "Consumer Spending", "ecommerce", "News", "PYMNTS News", "Retail", "retail spending", "What's Hot" ] }, { "id": "https://www.pymnts.com/?p=2011537", "url": "https://www.pymnts.com/amazon/2024/report-amazon-adept-deal-subject-of-ftc-inquiry/", "title": "Report: Amazon/Adept Deal Subject of FTC Inquiry", "content_html": "A U.S. regulator reportedly wants more information on Amazon\u2019s deal with AI startup Adept.
\nThe Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has asked Amazon for details about the arrangement to hire researchers and high-level executives from the artificial intelligence (AI) firm Adept, Reuters reported Tuesday\u00a0 (July 16), citing sources familiar with the matter.
\nThe request comes amid growing interest among regulators in AI partnerships involving tech giants such as Amazon, Google and Microsoft.
\nAs reported last month, Amazon has hired Adept co-founder/CEO David Luan and other execs to join its artificial general intelligence (AGI) team.\u00a0
\nAGI is a form of artificial intelligence (AI) that can think like human beings. According to an internal memo cited by Bloomberg News, Amazon hopes to use Adept\u2019s technology developing agents, or AI tools that can handle tasks autonomously, to help it create products for automating software workflows.
\n\u201cDavid and his team\u2019s expertise in training state-of-the-art multimodal foundational models and building real-world digital agents aligns with our vision to delight consumer and enterprise customers with practical AI solutions.\u201d Rohit Prasad, head of the Amazon AI autonomy team, wrote in the memo.
\nSpokespersons for both the FTC and Amazon declined to comment when reached by PYMNTS.
\nThe FTC is also looking into Microsoft\u2019s hiring of the leadership team of Inflection AI. The Reuters report notes \u2014 per a source \u2014 that investigation is examining whether the deal was an attempt to avoid merger disclosure requirements.
\nIn a separate case, the Department of Justice reportedly is looking into whether AI chipmaker Nvidia has violated antitrust laws, while the FTC is also examining Microsoft\u2019s relationship with OpenAI.
\n\u00a0\u201cIf these companies get slapped with an antitrust ruling, it could be a real game-changer for both the tech and AI industries,\u201d Aron Solomon, a lawyer and chief strategy officer at the legal services firm Amplify, told PYMNTS last month.\u00a0
\n\u201cWe could see these giants getting split up or having their wings clipped, which would open the door for smaller players and newcomers to step up and shake things up.\u201d
\nSolomon also noted that a ruling like that could force companies to reexamine their business practices and partnerships. And that could have a domino effect on everything from supply chains to pricing and the availability of tech services and products.
\n\u201cCompanies might have to go back to the drawing board and figure out how to play nice with others,\u201d he said.
\n\n
The post Report: Amazon/Adept Deal Subject of FTC Inquiry appeared first on PYMNTS.com.
\n", "content_text": "A U.S. regulator reportedly wants more information on Amazon\u2019s deal with AI startup Adept.\nThe Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has asked Amazon for details about the arrangement to hire researchers and high-level executives from the artificial intelligence (AI) firm Adept, Reuters reported Tuesday\u00a0 (July 16), citing sources familiar with the matter.\nThe request comes amid growing interest among regulators in AI partnerships involving tech giants such as Amazon, Google and Microsoft.\nAs reported last month, Amazon has hired Adept co-founder/CEO David Luan and other execs to join its artificial general intelligence (AGI) team.\u00a0\nAGI is a form of artificial intelligence (AI) that can think like human beings. According to an internal memo cited by Bloomberg News, Amazon hopes to use Adept\u2019s technology developing agents, or AI tools that can handle tasks autonomously, to help it create products for automating software workflows.\n\u201cDavid and his team\u2019s expertise in training state-of-the-art multimodal foundational models and building real-world digital agents aligns with our vision to delight consumer and enterprise customers with practical AI solutions.\u201d Rohit Prasad, head of the Amazon AI autonomy team, wrote in the memo.\nSpokespersons for both the FTC and Amazon declined to comment when reached by PYMNTS.\nThe FTC is also looking into Microsoft\u2019s hiring of the leadership team of Inflection AI. The Reuters report notes \u2014 per a source \u2014 that investigation is examining whether the deal was an attempt to avoid merger disclosure requirements.\nIn a separate case, the Department of Justice reportedly is looking into whether AI chipmaker Nvidia has violated antitrust laws, while the FTC is also examining Microsoft\u2019s relationship with OpenAI.\n\u00a0\u201cIf these companies get slapped with an antitrust ruling, it could be a real game-changer for both the tech and AI industries,\u201d Aron Solomon, a lawyer and chief strategy officer at the legal services firm Amplify, told PYMNTS last month.\u00a0\n\u201cWe could see these giants getting split up or having their wings clipped, which would open the door for smaller players and newcomers to step up and shake things up.\u201d\nSolomon also noted that a ruling like that could force companies to reexamine their business practices and partnerships. And that could have a domino effect on everything from supply chains to pricing and the availability of tech services and products.\n\u201cCompanies might have to go back to the drawing board and figure out how to play nice with others,\u201d he said.\n \nThe post Report: Amazon/Adept Deal Subject of FTC Inquiry appeared first on PYMNTS.com.", "date_published": "2024-07-16T10:31:46-04:00", "date_modified": "2024-07-16T12:11:58-04:00", "authors": [ { "name": "PYMNTS", "url": "https://www.pymnts.com/author/pymnts/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/f05cc0fdcc9e387e4f3570c17158c503?s=512&d=blank&r=g" } ], "author": { "name": "PYMNTS", "url": "https://www.pymnts.com/author/pymnts/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/f05cc0fdcc9e387e4f3570c17158c503?s=512&d=blank&r=g" }, "image": "https://www.pymnts.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/FTC-BlueSnap.jpg", "tags": [ "Adept", "AGI", "AI", "AI regulation", "Amazon", "Artificial General Intelligence", "artificial intelligence", "Federal Trade Commission", "FTC", "News", "PYMNTS News", "regulation", "What's Hot" ] }, { "id": "https://www.pymnts.com/?p=1974315", "url": "https://www.pymnts.com/amazon/2024/does-amazon-need-saks-global-to-save-the-luxury-department-store/", "title": "Does Amazon Need Saks Global to Conquer Luxury Retail?", "content_html": "Amazon turned 30 on July 5th and did something that nearly 70% of all women also say they do on their birthday: They bought themselves a present.
\nOn July 4th, the day before their three-decade birthday milestone, it was announced that Amazon would take a minority stake in the new luxury department store confab Saks Global. The $2.65 billion acquisition of Neiman Marcus by Saks will create that single luxury department store platform combining the 39 existing Saks stores, the 36 existing Neiman Marcus stores and the two Bergdorf Goodman flagship stores in New York.
\nAt least, that\u2019s the size of the footprint right now.
\nWe don\u2019t know how much of a birthday splurge that stake was for Amazon \u2014 details about total dollars invested were not disclosed.
\nThe acquisition isn\u2019t exactly a news flash. Saks and Neiman\u2019s have been doing the acquisitions dance for more than a decade. Their private equity investors wanted an exit after taking Neiman Marcus private in 2005 for $5.1 billion. Neiman\u2019s filed for bankruptcy in 2020, blaming COVID for at least some of its poor financial performance and using the filing as an opportunity to retire debt and streamline operations.
\nRumors floated again a year ago that an acquisition was in the offing, but the deal collapsed at the end of the year over price. Whether the Amazon stake and its potential to add shareholder value longer-term got Neiman\u2019s over their previous sale price hump is unknown.
\nSo, too, is whether even Amazon can save these once larger-than-life iconic luxury department stores from their largely self-inflicted demise.
\nThe head of Saks eCommerce says Amazon will accelerate the path forward for the merged entity. Geoffrey van Raemdonck, the CEO of Neiman Marcus, says that Saks Global (the new entity which includes Amazon\u2019s minority stake) will create greater efficiencies through a more streamlined inventory management and more favorable (read tougher) negotiations with suppliers. That people still love going to the store to touch and feel the merchandise and interact with salespeople.
\nThat luxury buyers are still buying.
\nMaybe. Lately, even wealthy buyers have become more discerning.
\nBut when they do shop, they don\u2019t seem to be beating a path to department stores. Looking at this chart from the St. Louis Fed suggests a different, more sobering, department store reality.
\n\n\nDepartment store sales are 50% below their peak in 2000, and 30% below where they were in the 1980s. \u00a0The 80s, as in 40 years ago. It\u2019s hard to understand what people mean when they say, \u201cdepartment stores are back.\u201d Back from what, exactly? Coming back from zero sales during COVID to levels which don\u2019t even match sales made four decades ago is hardly a comeback story worth writing.
\n\u201cBut things are looking up,\u201d proponents of the department store model still say. Not really. According to Collier\u2019s April Real Estate barometer, foot traffic to department stores in April rose 5.1%, but sales fell 5.3%. People are walking into department stores but walking out empty-handed \u2014 as it seems they have been for nearly a quarter of a century. In fact, annual sales for department stores are down by 22% over the 10-year period from 2013 to 2023.
\nNow, whether Amazon\u2019s minority stake in Saks Global becomes an opportunity for two desperate luxury retail department chains to think and act more like Amazon by streamlining logistics, inventory and supply chain operations \u2014 or whether it is the equivalent of a last-ditch retail Hail Mary pass \u2014 won\u2019t be known for a while.
\nNeither will Amazon\u2019s real interest in Saks Global.
\nMaybe they want a ringside seat into the ins and out of a retail category where Amazon doesn\u2019t have much of a presence right now \u2014 but could over the next five years. \u00a0To learn the ropes, the relationships, the frictions. The role of the physical store in luxury retail\u2019s future. According to Bain, the share of luxury goods sold online is expected to reach nearly a third of all luxury retail sales \u2014 taking most of that share from the department stores \u2014 up from low-double-digits five years ago.\u00a0 The future is trending digital.
\n\n\nOr perhaps Amazon wants a better understanding, more generally, about why, after thirty years of raising the expectations for the consumer retail buying experience, Census still reports that 84% of retail sales still happen in the physical store.
\nWhere innovation has stagnated for at least as many years.
\n\nBut where there\u2019s an opportunity to (finally) reinvent the retail model by making the physical store an extension of the digital experience. Where the physical store remains relevant, but maybe not so much for shopping.
\nIf I asked you to name the biggest innovations in the physical retail shopping experience over the last thirty years, what would make that list?
\nFor most people, the innovations that are top of mind are those that give consumers a way to avoid going into the store.
\nBuy online, pick up in store is the granddaddy of omnichannel, getting its start around 2007. It got its true digital mojo in 2020 as the world was in the throes of COVID and more retailers were forced to get on board. Today, globally, PYMNTS Intelligence finds a marked increase in that use case, with 9.2% of the U.S. consumer population using buy online, pick up at the store when shopping for groceries.
\nRetail is slightly higher, at 11%, but also often comes bundled with the not-so-veiled (and friction-filled attempt) to bring consumers into the store to fetch their bundles. In Boston, the Saks buy online, pick up in store experience consists of schlepping to a counter in the way-back corner of the second floor. Quite often, the buy online, pickup experience comes with a wait of a few days, which seems to miss the point of buying something online and picking it up in the store the same day.
\nInstacart gives consumers digital tools to shop the entirety of physical grocery store using their app. It could be a store where they always shop, or maybe the one that catches their interest but is too far away to be practical. Shoppers still shop at the grocery store, but they work for Instacart, and push shopping carts filled with stuff to be delivered to Instacart users.
\nRetail subscriptions, including Amazon\u2019s Subscribe and Save, are shopping innovations that move the weekly or monthly essential purchases online \u2014 maybe forever. Consumers can now subscribe to everything from laundry detergent to canned garbanzo beans to face cream to white T-shirts and get those items delivered on a schedule for free.
\nYou get the point.
\nInnovations inside the store that make shopping more convenient don\u2019t come easily to mind. No one marvels at the wonders of self-checkout. Even the no-checkout checkout seems to have gone nowhere. The Amazon Go experiment in 2018 was hailed as the coolest thing ever \u2014 until Amazon announced the closure of 8 of its 28 owned Amazon Go stores six years later. The new plan is to license the tech to 125 other retailers who\u2019ve yet to fess up that they\u2019re using it.
\nThere was a time when going to the store to shop was fun, interesting, serendipitous \u2014 but it has become an exercise in uncertainty. And consumers who hate uncertainty have turned to the online experiences that offer a more predictable outcome.
\nIt\u2019s also why years of analyzing shopper satisfaction find that the in-store shopping experience is the least satisfying of all \u2014 with department stores topping that list, as the Fed data shows.
\nSo why does the government report that 8 in every 10 retail purchases happen in physical stores?
\nI call it the Census Retail Data Iceberg Problem.
\nThe published Census Data on retail sales is a bit like an iceberg. What you see on the surface may not look that bad. The real danger sits below the surface, where the extent of the damage isn\u2019t felt until it\u2019s too late.
\nRight now, the Census reports that 84% of retail sales still happen in the physical store.
\nRetailers often laugh nervously when hearing these data. They hope it\u2019s true, but staring at the reality that is their day-to-day tells them that it isn\u2019t, for most of the big ones. They see and sense the danger below the surface, the impact of which is only getting stronger.
\nThe PYMNTS Intelligence team has tracked the share of online versus physical retail sales for most of the last decade. That team doubled down on benchmarking that shift in 2020 and has monitored the acceleration and permanence of retail\u2019s move online ever since. We do this by fielding national monthly and quarterly surveys of statistically significant consumer populations, producing results at a 95% confidence level.
\nIn the U.S., we find that even as consumers have returned to the physical store, online sales are 0.4% higher than they would have been, absent the pandemic. This amounts to an incremental $28 billion in sales that are now online and no longer made in stores.
\nTo understand the impact of that shift, and the true picture of online and physical store sales, one must examine the performance of individual retail segments.
\nIn other words, the iceberg below the surface often doesn\u2019t get as much airtime.
\nWhen Census publishes reports stating that 84% of retail sales happen in the physical store, those data include reporting across 12 retail segments, including clothing and personal care stores, and a lot of other categories too, like gas and groceries.
\nRemoving them from the retail sales tally, the online versus physical retail sales divide looks a little different. The share of retail sales made online becomes 19% of retail sales.
\nExamine just apparel and accessories, and the data looks different still.
\nPYMNTS Intelligence data estimates find that 34% of clothing sales were made online last year, double the 16% made online just a decade ago. That\u2019s slightly more than a third of clothing and apparel sales, for all of you keeping score at home, and only increasing. It starts to put the department store sales cliffhanger in a different perspective.
\n\n\nEven for groceries, where 99% of all grocery sales happened in the physical store pre-COVID, we observe that 39% of consumers buy some of their groceries online today. There is no reason to believe that shift won\u2019t continue.
\nThe generational shopping divide is even more telling.
\nNot surprisingly, the older the consumer, the greater the importance of physical retail, especially when purchasing clothing and accessories. There\u2019s only one problem: they do that half as often as their kids and grandkids.
\nThe younger the demographic, the more digital shopping becomes the preferred channel, their norm and their expectation of a user experience, even in a store.
\nThe emergence of the Click-and-Mortar![\"\u2122\"](\"https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/15.0.3/72x72/2122.png\")
shopper, an insight gleaned from a six-country PYMNTS Intelligence study of shoppers and merchants commissioned by Visa Acceptance, finds that consumers want the same digital experience when shopping in the physical store as when shopping online \u2014 and especially when buying clothes. More than a third of all consumers participating in the study fit that profile. In the U.S., that share of consumers is 30%.
For these shoppers, physical is simply an extension of the digital experience that\u2019s become second nature. Another place, not the only place, to go when they need or want something to buy. And when inside the store, they expect the same digital features \u2014 product reviews, price comparisons, promo codes, payment options.
\nThe one thing that younger and older shoppers share is that fewer of their feet cross store thresholds. The bad news for retailers is that fewer younger feet today means many, many fewer younger feet, with the loss of their spending power, tomorrow.
\nLet\u2019s hope that the Amazon and Saks Global tie-up starts a conversation around the retail watercooler about a shopping experience that doesn\u2019t start with the store and simply tinkering with the retail status quo.
\nMaybe it\u2019s taken 30 years for retail more generally, and department stores specifically, to come to grips with the reality that they\u2019ve lost their grip on shoppers. It took the sector a good 15 years \u2014 half that time \u2014 to admit that shopping online was more than a one-off.\u00a0 The Census Retail Data Iceberg is partly to blame.
\nIt\u2019s not just Saks and Neiman\u2019s looking for the big retail reset \u2014 all department store retailers want the magic elixir. Macy\u2019s new CEO has proclaimed a bold new chapter, including shuttering a slew of stores to improve operating margins. The Nordstrom family is said to be contemplating going private, again. Bloomingdales is putting their efforts into small store formats. Neiman\u2019s just offered me a free night at a swanky hotel if I book a three-night stay.
\nThe same stores, but smaller. Events in stores. VIP Membership and experiences. More of the status quo. Nothing that breaks the current retail model and reassembles it around shopping, not shopping channels.
\nSaks Global seems to believe, at least in part, that gaining efficiencies in the back of store can lay the foundation for a better customer experience in the store. That complex functions like inventory management, logistics, payments, rewards and distribution can best be accomplished collaboratively rather than building and maintaining those capabilities retailer by retailer and store by store.
\nThat\u2019s certainly true. For Saks Global, outsourcing logistics and distribution capabilities to Amazon could make it easier to move products between stores, to deliver products the same or next day \u2014 which could, itself, be a gamechanger.
\nBut Amazon didn\u2019t have to take a minority stake in Saks Global to get that deal.
\nHow much of a role Amazon might play in executing a newly-formed Saks Global vision is unknown. Retailers have been unsuccessful at reinventing their future on their own and could use the help.
\nAmazon comes to Saks Global with a retail pedigree of its own: its sales of apparel and accessories are $23.6 billion in Q1 2024, accounting for 16.1% of apparel sales, and 0.5% of consumer spending, according to the latest PYMNTS Intelligence data. That makes their apparel sales larger than Walmart\u2019s and Macy\u2019s. The last PYMNTS Intelligence data from July 1st finds Amazon\u2019s share of online retail sales at 47.7% of all online sales.
\n\n\nSelling luxury brands on Amazon hasn\u2019t mirrored that success. Brand selection is quite limiting. The consumer experience is also less than luxurious. Dropping a few thousand dollars on an Oscar de la Renta dress right after putting olive oil in my shopping cart seems weird.
\nWhat seems to have resonated is Amazon\u2019s offer to ship clothes to consumers who can either keep or return before having to pay. Social media influencers have branded storefronts on Amazon to style and sell curated outfits sold on Amazon. They and their followers can have a conversation about fashion on social channels, and consumers can buy those products on Amazon to get the next day or a few days later.
\nThere\u2019s also the opportunity to voice-activate the retail \u2014 and the luxury retail \u2014 experience in new ways. \u00a0I remember asking an Amazon exec right after Alexa was introduced when I might be able to use her as my shopping concierge. My use case: Asking Alexa to use my Amazon Pay account to purchase a jacket or a skirt in my size from an ad without having to go to the retailer\u2019s site.
\nLet\u2019s just say\u2026 I\u2019m still waiting.
\nBut it\u2019s not as crazy as it sounded ten years ago.
\nIn a world of embedded payments, GenAI, enabling tech and logistics expertise, one can imagine the physical store as a staging ground, organized around the convenience of the shopper and not the store hours. Shoppers in the physical store assemble and send outfits curated by stylists to a shopper\u2019s home, much like Instacart shoppers do when buying groceries for their users. \u00a0Video chats with sales associates in the store in real time could offer styling lessons and feedback on what looks good or what to mix and match with what. Items can be added or exchanged and delivered same or next day without the trip to the store. Influencers could even assume the role of trusted sales associate with business models and digital storefronts that reinvent the luxury shopping experience and the economics that support it.
\nThe Saks Global deal and Amazon\u2019s minority stake seems aimed at boosting the fortunes of two luxury retail franchises that have seen better days. The more interesting story will be whether Amazon needs Saks Global to conquer luxury retail. Or whether, after getting a look under the hood, they find the model so broken they decide to go it alone \u2014 taking with them the 21% of the Amazon\u2019s 185 million Prime Members who are women with annual incomes over $100,000, just waiting to shop \u2019til they drop.
\nThe post Does Amazon Need Saks Global to Conquer Luxury Retail? appeared first on PYMNTS.com.
\n", "content_text": "Amazon turned 30 on July 5th and did something that nearly 70% of all women also say they do on their birthday: They bought themselves a present.\nOn July 4th, the day before their three-decade birthday milestone, it was announced that Amazon would take a minority stake in the new luxury department store confab Saks Global. The $2.65 billion acquisition of Neiman Marcus by Saks will create that single luxury department store platform combining the 39 existing Saks stores, the 36 existing Neiman Marcus stores and the two Bergdorf Goodman flagship stores in New York.\nAt least, that\u2019s the size of the footprint right now.\nWe don\u2019t know how much of a birthday splurge that stake was for Amazon \u2014 details about total dollars invested were not disclosed.\nThe acquisition isn\u2019t exactly a news flash. Saks and Neiman\u2019s have been doing the acquisitions dance for more than a decade. Their private equity investors wanted an exit after taking Neiman Marcus private in 2005 for $5.1 billion. Neiman\u2019s filed for bankruptcy in 2020, blaming COVID for at least some of its poor financial performance and using the filing as an opportunity to retire debt and streamline operations.\nRumors floated again a year ago that an acquisition was in the offing, but the deal collapsed at the end of the year over price. Whether the Amazon stake and its potential to add shareholder value longer-term got Neiman\u2019s over their previous sale price hump is unknown.\nSo, too, is whether even Amazon can save these once larger-than-life iconic luxury department stores from their largely self-inflicted demise.\nThe head of Saks eCommerce says Amazon will accelerate the path forward for the merged entity. Geoffrey van Raemdonck, the CEO of Neiman Marcus, says that Saks Global (the new entity which includes Amazon\u2019s minority stake) will create greater efficiencies through a more streamlined inventory management and more favorable (read tougher) negotiations with suppliers. That people still love going to the store to touch and feel the merchandise and interact with salespeople.\nThat luxury buyers are still buying.\nMaybe. Lately, even wealthy buyers have become more discerning.\nBut when they do shop, they don\u2019t seem to be beating a path to department stores. Looking at this chart from the St. Louis Fed suggests a different, more sobering, department store reality.\n\n\nDepartment store sales are 50% below their peak in 2000, and 30% below where they were in the 1980s. \u00a0The 80s, as in 40 years ago. It\u2019s hard to understand what people mean when they say, \u201cdepartment stores are back.\u201d Back from what, exactly? Coming back from zero sales during COVID to levels which don\u2019t even match sales made four decades ago is hardly a comeback story worth writing.\n\u201cBut things are looking up,\u201d proponents of the department store model still say. Not really. According to Collier\u2019s April Real Estate barometer, foot traffic to department stores in April rose 5.1%, but sales fell 5.3%. People are walking into department stores but walking out empty-handed \u2014 as it seems they have been for nearly a quarter of a century. In fact, annual sales for department stores are down by 22% over the 10-year period from 2013 to 2023.\nNow, whether Amazon\u2019s minority stake in Saks Global becomes an opportunity for two desperate luxury retail department chains to think and act more like Amazon by streamlining logistics, inventory and supply chain operations \u2014 or whether it is the equivalent of a last-ditch retail Hail Mary pass \u2014 won\u2019t be known for a while.\nNeither will Amazon\u2019s real interest in Saks Global.\nMaybe they want a ringside seat into the ins and out of a retail category where Amazon doesn\u2019t have much of a presence right now \u2014 but could over the next five years. \u00a0To learn the ropes, the relationships, the frictions. The role of the physical store in luxury retail\u2019s future. According to Bain, the share of luxury goods sold online is expected to reach nearly a third of all luxury retail sales \u2014 taking most of that share from the department stores \u2014 up from low-double-digits five years ago.\u00a0 The future is trending digital.\n\n\nOr perhaps Amazon wants a better understanding, more generally, about why, after thirty years of raising the expectations for the consumer retail buying experience, Census still reports that 84% of retail sales still happen in the physical store.\nWhere innovation has stagnated for at least as many years.\nWhere data about the share of online versus physical retail sales is about as clear as mud and easily misinterpreted.\nBut where there\u2019s an opportunity to (finally) reinvent the retail model by making the physical store an extension of the digital experience. Where the physical store remains relevant, but maybe not so much for shopping.\nPhysical Retail\u2019s Innovation Desert\nIf I asked you to name the biggest innovations in the physical retail shopping experience over the last thirty years, what would make that list?\nFor most people, the innovations that are top of mind are those that give consumers a way to avoid going into the store.\nBuy online, pick up in store is the granddaddy of omnichannel, getting its start around 2007. It got its true digital mojo in 2020 as the world was in the throes of COVID and more retailers were forced to get on board. Today, globally, PYMNTS Intelligence finds a marked increase in that use case, with 9.2% of the U.S. consumer population using buy online, pick up at the store when shopping for groceries.\nRetail is slightly higher, at 11%, but also often comes bundled with the not-so-veiled (and friction-filled attempt) to bring consumers into the store to fetch their bundles. In Boston, the Saks buy online, pick up in store experience consists of schlepping to a counter in the way-back corner of the second floor. Quite often, the buy online, pickup experience comes with a wait of a few days, which seems to miss the point of buying something online and picking it up in the store the same day.\nInstacart gives consumers digital tools to shop the entirety of physical grocery store using their app. It could be a store where they always shop, or maybe the one that catches their interest but is too far away to be practical. Shoppers still shop at the grocery store, but they work for Instacart, and push shopping carts filled with stuff to be delivered to Instacart users.\nRetail subscriptions, including Amazon\u2019s Subscribe and Save, are shopping innovations that move the weekly or monthly essential purchases online \u2014 maybe forever. Consumers can now subscribe to everything from laundry detergent to canned garbanzo beans to face cream to white T-shirts and get those items delivered on a schedule for free.\nYou get the point.\nInnovations inside the store that make shopping more convenient don\u2019t come easily to mind. No one marvels at the wonders of self-checkout. Even the no-checkout checkout seems to have gone nowhere. The Amazon Go experiment in 2018 was hailed as the coolest thing ever \u2014 until Amazon announced the closure of 8 of its 28 owned Amazon Go stores six years later. The new plan is to license the tech to 125 other retailers who\u2019ve yet to fess up that they\u2019re using it.\nThere was a time when going to the store to shop was fun, interesting, serendipitous \u2014 but it has become an exercise in uncertainty. And consumers who hate uncertainty have turned to the online experiences that offer a more predictable outcome.\nIt\u2019s also why years of analyzing shopper satisfaction find that the in-store shopping experience is the least satisfying of all \u2014 with department stores topping that list, as the Fed data shows.\nSo why does the government report that 8 in every 10 retail purchases happen in physical stores?\nI call it the Census Retail Data Iceberg Problem.\nThe Census Data Retail Sales Iceberg\nThe published Census Data on retail sales is a bit like an iceberg. What you see on the surface may not look that bad. The real danger sits below the surface, where the extent of the damage isn\u2019t felt until it\u2019s too late.\nRight now, the Census reports that 84% of retail sales still happen in the physical store.\nRetailers often laugh nervously when hearing these data. They hope it\u2019s true, but staring at the reality that is their day-to-day tells them that it isn\u2019t, for most of the big ones. They see and sense the danger below the surface, the impact of which is only getting stronger.\nThe PYMNTS Intelligence team has tracked the share of online versus physical retail sales for most of the last decade. That team doubled down on benchmarking that shift in 2020 and has monitored the acceleration and permanence of retail\u2019s move online ever since. We do this by fielding national monthly and quarterly surveys of statistically significant consumer populations, producing results at a 95% confidence level.\nIn the U.S., we find that even as consumers have returned to the physical store, online sales are 0.4% higher than they would have been, absent the pandemic. This amounts to an incremental $28 billion in sales that are now online and no longer made in stores.\nTo understand the impact of that shift, and the true picture of online and physical store sales, one must examine the performance of individual retail segments.\nIn other words, the iceberg below the surface often doesn\u2019t get as much airtime.\nThe Danger in the Data Beneath the Surface\nWhen Census publishes reports stating that 84% of retail sales happen in the physical store, those data include reporting across 12 retail segments, including clothing and personal care stores, and a lot of other categories too, like gas and groceries.\nRemoving them from the retail sales tally, the online versus physical retail sales divide looks a little different. The share of retail sales made online becomes 19% of retail sales.\nExamine just apparel and accessories, and the data looks different still.\nPYMNTS Intelligence data estimates find that 34% of clothing sales were made online last year, double the 16% made online just a decade ago. That\u2019s slightly more than a third of clothing and apparel sales, for all of you keeping score at home, and only increasing. It starts to put the department store sales cliffhanger in a different perspective.\n\n\nEven for groceries, where 99% of all grocery sales happened in the physical store pre-COVID, we observe that 39% of consumers buy some of their groceries online today. There is no reason to believe that shift won\u2019t continue.\nHow the Generations Shop \nThe generational shopping divide is even more telling.\nNot surprisingly, the older the consumer, the greater the importance of physical retail, especially when purchasing clothing and accessories. There\u2019s only one problem: they do that half as often as their kids and grandkids.\nThe younger the demographic, the more digital shopping becomes the preferred channel, their norm and their expectation of a user experience, even in a store.\nThe emergence of the Click-and-Mortar shopper, an insight gleaned from a six-country PYMNTS Intelligence study of shoppers and merchants commissioned by Visa Acceptance, finds that consumers want the same digital experience when shopping in the physical store as when shopping online \u2014 and especially when buying clothes. More than a third of all consumers participating in the study fit that profile. In the U.S., that share of consumers is 30%.\nFor these shoppers, physical is simply an extension of the digital experience that\u2019s become second nature. Another place, not the only place, to go when they need or want something to buy. And when inside the store, they expect the same digital features \u2014 product reviews, price comparisons, promo codes, payment options.\nThe one thing that younger and older shoppers share is that fewer of their feet cross store thresholds. The bad news for retailers is that fewer younger feet today means many, many fewer younger feet, with the loss of their spending power, tomorrow.\nLet\u2019s hope that the Amazon and Saks Global tie-up starts a conversation around the retail watercooler about a shopping experience that doesn\u2019t start with the store and simply tinkering with the retail status quo.\nScratching Thirty-Year Retail Innovation Itch\nMaybe it\u2019s taken 30 years for retail more generally, and department stores specifically, to come to grips with the reality that they\u2019ve lost their grip on shoppers. It took the sector a good 15 years \u2014 half that time \u2014 to admit that shopping online was more than a one-off.\u00a0 The Census Retail Data Iceberg is partly to blame.\nIt\u2019s not just Saks and Neiman\u2019s looking for the big retail reset \u2014 all department store retailers want the magic elixir. Macy\u2019s new CEO has proclaimed a bold new chapter, including shuttering a slew of stores to improve operating margins. The Nordstrom family is said to be contemplating going private, again. Bloomingdales is putting their efforts into small store formats. Neiman\u2019s just offered me a free night at a swanky hotel if I book a three-night stay.\nThe same stores, but smaller. Events in stores. VIP Membership and experiences. More of the status quo. Nothing that breaks the current retail model and reassembles it around shopping, not shopping channels.\nSaks Global seems to believe, at least in part, that gaining efficiencies in the back of store can lay the foundation for a better customer experience in the store. That complex functions like inventory management, logistics, payments, rewards and distribution can best be accomplished collaboratively rather than building and maintaining those capabilities retailer by retailer and store by store.\nThat\u2019s certainly true. For Saks Global, outsourcing logistics and distribution capabilities to Amazon could make it easier to move products between stores, to deliver products the same or next day \u2014 which could, itself, be a gamechanger.\nBut Amazon didn\u2019t have to take a minority stake in Saks Global to get that deal.\nThe Amazon Effect on Luxury Retail \nHow much of a role Amazon might play in executing a newly-formed Saks Global vision is unknown. Retailers have been unsuccessful at reinventing their future on their own and could use the help.\nAmazon comes to Saks Global with a retail pedigree of its own: its sales of apparel and accessories are $23.6 billion in Q1 2024, accounting for 16.1% of apparel sales, and 0.5% of consumer spending, according to the latest PYMNTS Intelligence data. That makes their apparel sales larger than Walmart\u2019s and Macy\u2019s. The last PYMNTS Intelligence data from July 1st finds Amazon\u2019s share of online retail sales at 47.7% of all online sales.\n\n\nSelling luxury brands on Amazon hasn\u2019t mirrored that success. Brand selection is quite limiting. The consumer experience is also less than luxurious. Dropping a few thousand dollars on an Oscar de la Renta dress right after putting olive oil in my shopping cart seems weird.\nWhat seems to have resonated is Amazon\u2019s offer to ship clothes to consumers who can either keep or return before having to pay. Social media influencers have branded storefronts on Amazon to style and sell curated outfits sold on Amazon. They and their followers can have a conversation about fashion on social channels, and consumers can buy those products on Amazon to get the next day or a few days later.\nThere\u2019s also the opportunity to voice-activate the retail \u2014 and the luxury retail \u2014 experience in new ways. \u00a0I remember asking an Amazon exec right after Alexa was introduced when I might be able to use her as my shopping concierge. My use case: Asking Alexa to use my Amazon Pay account to purchase a jacket or a skirt in my size from an ad without having to go to the retailer\u2019s site.\nLet\u2019s just say\u2026 I\u2019m still waiting.\nBut it\u2019s not as crazy as it sounded ten years ago.\nIn a world of embedded payments, GenAI, enabling tech and logistics expertise, one can imagine the physical store as a staging ground, organized around the convenience of the shopper and not the store hours. Shoppers in the physical store assemble and send outfits curated by stylists to a shopper\u2019s home, much like Instacart shoppers do when buying groceries for their users. \u00a0Video chats with sales associates in the store in real time could offer styling lessons and feedback on what looks good or what to mix and match with what. Items can be added or exchanged and delivered same or next day without the trip to the store. Influencers could even assume the role of trusted sales associate with business models and digital storefronts that reinvent the luxury shopping experience and the economics that support it.\nThe Saks Global deal and Amazon\u2019s minority stake seems aimed at boosting the fortunes of two luxury retail franchises that have seen better days. The more interesting story will be whether Amazon needs Saks Global to conquer luxury retail. Or whether, after getting a look under the hood, they find the model so broken they decide to go it alone \u2014 taking with them the 21% of the Amazon\u2019s 185 million Prime Members who are women with annual incomes over $100,000, just waiting to shop \u2019til they drop.\nThe post Does Amazon Need Saks Global to Conquer Luxury Retail? appeared first on PYMNTS.com.", "date_published": "2024-07-11T07:00:29-04:00", "date_modified": "2024-07-11T07:06:11-04:00", "authors": [ { "name": "Karen Webster", "url": "https://www.pymnts.com/author/karen-webster/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/5b27788b9b2e77749b3dc9da766486d8?s=512&d=blank&r=g" } ], "author": { "name": "Karen Webster", "url": "https://www.pymnts.com/author/karen-webster/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/5b27788b9b2e77749b3dc9da766486d8?s=512&d=blank&r=g" }, "image": "https://www.pymnts.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/amazon-luxury.jpg", "tags": [ "acquisitions", "Amazon", "brick and mortar", "Click-and-Mortar\u2122", "Department Stores", "digital commerce", "Karen Webster", "KLW Commentary", "luxury retail", "Main Feature", "neiman marcus", "News", "online shopping", "PYMNTS Intelligence", "PYMNTS News", "Retail", "Saks", "Saks Global" ] }, { "id": "https://www.pymnts.com/?p=1974569", "url": "https://www.pymnts.com/amazon/2024/aws-launches-genai-powered-service-for-creating-applications/", "title": "AWS Launches GenAI-Powered Service for Creating Applications", "content_html": "Amazon Web Services\u00a0(AWS) has unveiled a generative artificial intelligence (AI)-powered service that helps users create applications using natural language.
\nWith the new\u00a0AWS App Studio, users can describe an application they want, the things they want it to do, and the data sources they want to integrate with. The service then uses that information to build an application \u201cin just minutes\u201d that can be used immediately, AWS said in a Wednesday (July 10)\u00a0press release.
\nApp Studio is currently available in preview in Oregon, according to the release.
\n\u201cAWS App Studio opens up\u00a0application development to an entirely new set of builders, helping them create enterprise-grade applications in minutes,\u201d\u00a0Dilip Kumar, vice president of applications at AWS, said in the release. \u201cDesigned to meet the needs of the largest enterprise customers and fastest growing startups, App Studio is a force multiplier for technical employees at any company.\u201d
\nOnce applications have been created by App Studio, users can modify them using the service\u2019s point-and-click interface and can get immediate guidance on how to use them by asking its generative AI-powered assistant, according to the release.
\nIn addition, the applications are secure and fully managed by AWS, the release said.
\nThis new service is designed for use by technical professionals who don\u2019t have software development skills, per\u00a0the release. Potential users include IT\u00a0project managers, data engineers and enterprise architects.
\nOne company already using App Studio,\u00a0Deloitte, has found that the service can help its employees build applications in minutes,\u00a0JB McGinnis, U.S. AWS alliance leader at Deloitte Consulting LLP, said in the release.
\n\u201cWith App Studio, our technical employees are able to take charge and easily go from idea to application in just a few sentences, streamlining these activities for the entire team,\u201d McGinnis said.
\nAmazon\u2019s focus on AI was a key driver of growth in the first quarter, as it announced several new generative AI products and services, PYMNTS reported in May.
\nIn April, AWS announced the general availability of its\u00a0generative AI-powered assistants for software development and business decision-making,\u00a0Amazon Q Developer and\u00a0Amazon Q Business.
\nThe post AWS Launches GenAI-Powered Service for Creating Applications appeared first on PYMNTS.com.
\n", "content_text": "Amazon Web Services\u00a0(AWS) has unveiled a generative artificial intelligence (AI)-powered service that helps users create applications using natural language.\nWith the new\u00a0AWS App Studio, users can describe an application they want, the things they want it to do, and the data sources they want to integrate with. The service then uses that information to build an application \u201cin just minutes\u201d that can be used immediately, AWS said in a Wednesday (July 10)\u00a0press release.\nApp Studio is currently available in preview in Oregon, according to the release.\n\u201cAWS App Studio opens up\u00a0application development to an entirely new set of builders, helping them create enterprise-grade applications in minutes,\u201d\u00a0Dilip Kumar, vice president of applications at AWS, said in the release. \u201cDesigned to meet the needs of the largest enterprise customers and fastest growing startups, App Studio is a force multiplier for technical employees at any company.\u201d\nOnce applications have been created by App Studio, users can modify them using the service\u2019s point-and-click interface and can get immediate guidance on how to use them by asking its generative AI-powered assistant, according to the release.\nIn addition, the applications are secure and fully managed by AWS, the release said.\nThis new service is designed for use by technical professionals who don\u2019t have software development skills, per\u00a0the release. Potential users include IT\u00a0project managers, data engineers and enterprise architects.\nOne company already using App Studio,\u00a0Deloitte, has found that the service can help its employees build applications in minutes,\u00a0JB McGinnis, U.S. AWS alliance leader at Deloitte Consulting LLP, said in the release.\n\u201cWith App Studio, our technical employees are able to take charge and easily go from idea to application in just a few sentences, streamlining these activities for the entire team,\u201d McGinnis said.\nAmazon\u2019s focus on AI was a key driver of growth in the first quarter, as it announced several new generative AI products and services, PYMNTS reported in May.\nIn April, AWS announced the general availability of its\u00a0generative AI-powered assistants for software development and business decision-making,\u00a0Amazon Q Developer and\u00a0Amazon Q Business.\nThe post AWS Launches GenAI-Powered Service for Creating Applications appeared first on PYMNTS.com.", "date_published": "2024-07-10T22:27:07-04:00", "date_modified": "2024-07-10T22:27:07-04:00", "authors": [ { "name": "PYMNTS", "url": "https://www.pymnts.com/author/pymnts/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/f05cc0fdcc9e387e4f3570c17158c503?s=512&d=blank&r=g" } ], "author": { "name": "PYMNTS", "url": "https://www.pymnts.com/author/pymnts/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/f05cc0fdcc9e387e4f3570c17158c503?s=512&d=blank&r=g" }, "image": "https://www.pymnts.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Amazon-Web-Services-AWS.jpg", "tags": [ "Amazon Web Services", "apps", "artificial intelligence", "AWS", "AWS App Studio", "digital transformation", "GenAI", "generative AI", "Innovation", "mobile apps", "News", "PYMNTS News", "Technology", "What's Hot", "Amazon" ] }, { "id": "https://www.pymnts.com/?p=1972731", "url": "https://www.pymnts.com/amazon/2024/amazon-debuts-updated-echo-spot-prime-day-approaches/", "title": "Amazon Debuts Updated Echo Spot as Prime Day Approaches", "content_html": "Amazon\u2019s smart alarm clock, the Echo Spot, was first introduced in 2017. Now, it\u2019s getting an upgrade.
\nThe tech giant announced in a Monday (July 8) press release an all-new Echo Spot.
\n\u201cEcho Spot is a sleek new customizable smart alarm clock, featuring a variety of custom-designed clock faces and fun colors,\u201d the release said.
\nThe clock sells for $79.99, but Prime members can get it for $35 off between now and July 17 in celebration of Prime Day, according to the release.
\n\u201cThe all-new Echo Spot builds on what our customers loved most about the original product \u2014 like the semi-spherical shape, access to Alexa, and the compact and vibrant display \u2014 and reimagines it with even better visuals and improved audio quality,\u201d the release said.
\nWhile Amazon didn\u2019t mention it in the release, several news reports noted that the new Echo Spot might be most noteworthy for what it lacks: no built-in camera, which is welcome news for people unhappy about giving a $2 trillion company a view to their bedrooms.
\nThe device also includes unique animations that are activated when people use common phrases to interact with Alexa, like \u201cAlexa, thank you,\u201d the release said.
\nAmazon\u2019s new smart clock comes as voice assistants are getting more conversational.
\nPYMNTS Intelligence found that consumers are optimistic about the future of voice technology, with more than 60% of Americans saying that voice assistants will eventually match human intelligence and reliability in the near future.
\nMeanwhile, Amazon is discontinuing its security robot designed for small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) as it focuses its efforts on developing household robots.
\nAmazon debuted the Amazon Astro robot for household use in 2021 and then expanded it to business customers under the name Astro for Business two years later. Astro for Business was available in the U.S. only, selling for $2,349.99.
\nAccording to an Amazon Astro Support page on the retailer\u2019s website, Astro for Business is no longer for sale, and the existing devices will cease functioning Sept. 25.
\n\u201cIn the coming weeks, Amazon will fully refund any Amazon Astro for Business device purchase to the original payment method used,\u201d the page said.
\nThe post Amazon Debuts Updated Echo Spot as Prime Day Approaches appeared first on PYMNTS.com.
\n", "content_text": "Amazon\u2019s smart alarm clock, the Echo Spot, was first introduced in 2017. Now, it\u2019s getting an upgrade.\nThe tech giant announced in a Monday (July 8) press release an all-new Echo Spot.\n\u201cEcho Spot is a sleek new customizable smart alarm clock, featuring a variety of custom-designed clock faces and fun colors,\u201d the release said.\nThe clock sells for $79.99, but Prime members can get it for $35 off between now and July 17 in celebration of Prime Day, according to the release.\n\u201cThe all-new Echo Spot builds on what our customers loved most about the original product \u2014 like the semi-spherical shape, access to Alexa, and the compact and vibrant display \u2014 and reimagines it with even better visuals and improved audio quality,\u201d the release said.\nWhile Amazon didn\u2019t mention it in the release, several news reports noted that the new Echo Spot might be most noteworthy for what it lacks: no built-in camera, which is welcome news for people unhappy about giving a $2 trillion company a view to their bedrooms.\nThe device also includes unique animations that are activated when people use common phrases to interact with Alexa, like \u201cAlexa, thank you,\u201d the release said.\nAmazon\u2019s new smart clock comes as voice assistants are getting more conversational.\nPYMNTS Intelligence found that consumers are optimistic about the future of voice technology, with more than 60% of Americans saying that voice assistants will eventually match human intelligence and reliability in the near future.\nMeanwhile, Amazon is discontinuing its security robot designed for small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) as it focuses its efforts on developing household robots.\nAmazon debuted the Amazon Astro robot for household use in 2021 and then expanded it to business customers under the name Astro for Business two years later. Astro for Business was available in the U.S. only, selling for $2,349.99.\nAccording to an Amazon Astro Support page on the retailer\u2019s website, Astro for Business is no longer for sale, and the existing devices will cease functioning Sept. 25.\n\u201cIn the coming weeks, Amazon will fully refund any Amazon Astro for Business device purchase to the original payment method used,\u201d the page said.\nThe post Amazon Debuts Updated Echo Spot as Prime Day Approaches appeared first on PYMNTS.com.", "date_published": "2024-07-08T15:06:40-04:00", "date_modified": "2024-07-08T15:06:40-04:00", "authors": [ { "name": "PYMNTS", "url": "https://www.pymnts.com/author/pymnts/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/f05cc0fdcc9e387e4f3570c17158c503?s=512&d=blank&r=g" } ], "author": { "name": "PYMNTS", "url": "https://www.pymnts.com/author/pymnts/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/f05cc0fdcc9e387e4f3570c17158c503?s=512&d=blank&r=g" }, "image": "https://www.pymnts.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Amazon-Echo-Spot-voice-assistant.jpg", "tags": [ "Amazon", "Echo Spot", "ecommerce", "News", "PYMNTS News", "Retail", "Technology", "voice activation", "What's Hot" ] }, { "id": "https://www.pymnts.com/?p=1972017", "url": "https://www.pymnts.com/amazon/2024/amazon-gets-3-weeks-to-show-digital-service-act-compliance/", "title": "Amazon Gets 3 Weeks to Show Compliance With Digital Services Act", "content_html": "The European Commission wants Amazon to prove it\u2019s complying with the Digital Services Act (DSA).
\nThe watchdog group has given the tech giant until July 26 to turn over information on the measures it has taken to follow the law, Reuters reported Friday (July 5).
\n\u201cIn particular, Amazon is asked to provide detailed information on its compliance with the provisions concerning transparency of the recommender systems,\u201d the commission said.
\nAdopted last year, the Digital Services Act (DSA) requires \u201clarge online platforms\u201d like Amazon to do more to address illegal or harmful content. (Amazon had sued to prevent being designated such a platform.)
\n\u201cWe are reviewing this request and working closely with the European Commission. Amazon shares the goal of the European Commission to create a safe, predictable and trusted shopping environment,\u201d an Amazon spokesperson told Reuters.
\n\u201cWe think this is important for all participants in the retail industry, and we invest significantly in protecting our store from bad actors, illegal content, and in creating a trustworthy shopping experience. We have built on this strong foundation for DSA compliance,\u201d the spokesperson added.
\nA number of Big Tech companies have been making changes this year to remain in compliance with the DSA.
\nFor example, the Microsoft-owned LinkedIn last month said it was phasing out a controversial tool that allowed for the use of sensitive personal data for targeted advertising. The networking platform was announced after receiving pressure from civil society organizations as well as scrutiny from regulators.
\nThose groups had complained to the European Commission that the tool might allow advertisers to target LinkedIn users based on sensitive personal data such as racial or ethnic origin, political opinions and other personal details via their membership in LinkedIn groups.
\nAnd TikTok in April suspended a rewards program on TikTok Lite following a dispute with regulators in Europe, who argued the program could be addictive for children and threatened it with a temporary ban.
\n\u201cOur children are not guinea pigs for social media,\u201d EU Internal Markets Commissioner Thierry Breton had said before TikTok came to its decision.
\n\u201cTikTok always seeks to engage constructively with the EU Commission and other regulators,\u201d the TikTok Policy Europe account said on X. \u201cWe are therefore voluntarily suspending the rewards functions in TikTok Lite while we address the concerns that they have raised.\u201d
\nThe post Amazon Gets 3 Weeks to Show Compliance With Digital Services Act appeared first on PYMNTS.com.
\n", "content_text": "The European Commission wants Amazon to prove it\u2019s complying with the Digital Services Act (DSA).\nThe watchdog group has given the tech giant until July 26 to turn over information on the measures it has taken to follow the law, Reuters reported Friday (July 5).\n\u201cIn particular, Amazon is asked to provide detailed information on its compliance with the provisions concerning transparency of the recommender systems,\u201d the commission said.\nAdopted last year, the Digital Services Act (DSA) requires \u201clarge online platforms\u201d like Amazon to do more to address illegal or harmful content. (Amazon had sued to prevent being designated such a platform.)\n\u201cWe are reviewing this request and working closely with the European Commission. Amazon shares the goal of the European Commission to create a safe, predictable and trusted shopping environment,\u201d an Amazon spokesperson told Reuters.\n\u201cWe think this is important for all participants in the retail industry, and we invest significantly in protecting our store from bad actors, illegal content, and in creating a trustworthy shopping experience. We have built on this strong foundation for DSA compliance,\u201d the spokesperson added.\nA number of Big Tech companies have been making changes this year to remain in compliance with the DSA.\nFor example, the Microsoft-owned LinkedIn last month said it was phasing out a controversial tool that allowed for the use of sensitive personal data for targeted advertising. The networking platform was announced after receiving pressure from civil society organizations as well as scrutiny from regulators.\nThose groups had complained to the European Commission that the tool might allow advertisers to target LinkedIn users based on sensitive personal data such as racial or ethnic origin, political opinions and other personal details via their membership in LinkedIn groups.\nAnd TikTok in April suspended a rewards program on TikTok Lite following a dispute with regulators in Europe, who argued the program could be addictive for children and threatened it with a temporary ban.\n\u201cOur children are not guinea pigs for social media,\u201d EU Internal Markets Commissioner Thierry Breton had said before TikTok came to its decision.\n\u201cTikTok always seeks to engage constructively with the EU Commission and other regulators,\u201d the TikTok Policy Europe account said on X. \u201cWe are therefore voluntarily suspending the rewards functions in TikTok Lite while we address the concerns that they have raised.\u201d\nThe post Amazon Gets 3 Weeks to Show Compliance With Digital Services Act appeared first on PYMNTS.com.", "date_published": "2024-07-05T18:17:27-04:00", "date_modified": "2024-07-05T18:18:41-04:00", "authors": [ { "name": "PYMNTS", "url": "https://www.pymnts.com/author/pymnts/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/f05cc0fdcc9e387e4f3570c17158c503?s=512&d=blank&r=g" } ], "author": { "name": "PYMNTS", "url": "https://www.pymnts.com/author/pymnts/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/f05cc0fdcc9e387e4f3570c17158c503?s=512&d=blank&r=g" }, "image": "https://www.pymnts.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Amazon-EU-EC-DSA-Digital-Services-Act.jpg", "tags": [ "Amazon", "Big Tech", "compliance", "Digital Services Act", "DSA", "EC", "ecommerce", "EMEA", "EU", "European Commission", "European Union", "international", "large online platforms", "News", "PYMNTS News", "regulations", "What's Hot" ] } ] }