Content about Amazon

May 2, 2013

For a vendor that has never done business with Amazon, understanding how to fully harness the potential of the world’s largest online retailer might seem equally as daunting as standing at the foot of the world’s largest rainforest without a map or a compass.

For a vendor that has never done business with Amazon, understanding how to fully harness the potential of the world’s largest online retailer might seem equally as daunting as standing at the foot of the world’s largest rainforest without a map or a compass.

But according to Chance Wales, director and category leader of U.S. health and beauty for Amazon, it’s easier than you think.

May 9, 2013

As the editor of DSN, I decide what stays in print and what gets cut. Spatial limitations dictated that this snippet from our Amazon story had to go. But in the age of the omnichannel shopper, where every retailer competes against everyone else for a bigger share of the customer's wallet, how can you do an in-depth profile on the world's largest online retailer and not talk about omnichannel?

As the editor of DSN, I decide what stays in print and what gets cut. Spatial limitations dictated that this snippet from our Amazon story had to go. But in the age of the omnichannel shopper, where every retailer competes against everyone else for a bigger share of the customer's wallet, how can you do an in-depth profile on the world's largest online retailer and not talk about omnichannel?

April 26, 2013

Amazon on Thursday reported a net sales increase of 22% to $16.1 billion for its first quarter ended March 31.

SEATTLE — Amazon on Thursday reported a net sales increase of 22% to $16.1 billion for its first quarter ended March 31. Of that, $9.4 billion was sourced from the North American market. North American sales of electronics, health and beauty products, among other merchandise, reached $6.1 billion for the quarter, up 28.4%. 

During a conference call with analysts, Amazon CEO Tom Szkutak declined to confirm rumors that Amazon is investing in additional refrigeration equipment across its fulfillment center footprint with plans to expand AmazonFresh. 

April 22, 2013

Rumors are circulating that Amazon may be opening a brick-and-mortar store in London, according to published reports.

NEW YORK — Rumors are circulating that Amazon may be opening a brick-and-mortar store in London, according to published reports.

The website Ecommercebytes.com reported on an ad that appeared on the classified-ad site Gumtree.com, for positions at an Amazon store to open in East London.

"As this is our first Amazon store you will be a part of our companies [sic] history," the ad reads. "You will be heavily promoting the store within Westfield enticing passers by to visit our state of the art show room."

April 19, 2013

Amazon.com created a virtual health and wellness depot with the launch of its new 50+ Active and Healthy Living Store.

Amazon.com created a virtual health and wellness depot with the launch of its new 50+ Active and Healthy Living Store. With this online destination, Amazon will be targeting the caregiver sweet spot — that sandwich generation who are likely to simultaneously care for their baby boomer parents even as they raise their Gen Y children. 

But are consumers really shopping health online? Or, more important, are they buying health online?

April 15, 2013

Online retailer Amazon has announced the launch of its new 50+ Active and Healthy Living Store, which features hundreds of thousands of nutrition, wellness, exercise and fitness, medical, personal care, beauty, entertainment items and more — all in a single destination for customers in the 50+ age range.

SEATTLE — Online retailer Amazon has announced the launch of its new 50+ Active and Healthy Living Store, which features hundreds of thousands of nutrition, wellness, exercise and fitness, medical, personal care, beauty, entertainment items and more — all in a single destination for customers in the 50-plus years age range.

April 3, 2013

Amazon and Walmart's e-commerce division are expanding and starting programs to allow customers to order items online and then pick them up from lockers stationed at brick-and-mortar retailers. Amazon has been running such a program for a couple of years in a few major cities, including installing the lockers at Rite Aid stores in cities like New York.

NEW YORK — Amazon and Walmart's e-commerce division are expanding and starting programs to allow customers to order items online and then pick them up from lockers stationed at brick-and-mortar retailers.

March 29, 2013

Google has officially unveiled its testing program for Google Shopping Express, its new online delivery service in the San Francisco Bay area, signing up with retailers like Target, Walgreens and Raley's to allow customers to receive items directly from store shelves at their homes within a day.

The program has been widely described as an effort by Google to compete with e-commerce giant Amazon, but what sets Google Shopping Express apart is its sourcing partnership with brick-and-mortar retailers, particularly Target, which itself has made significant investments in omnichannel retail, most recently with its purchases of two online cooking-equipment retailers. As a whole slew of developments over the past couple of weeks has shown, omnichannel is becoming a key component of many retailers' business.

Google has officially unveiled its testing program for Google Shopping Express, its new online delivery service in the San Francisco Bay area, signing up with retailers like Target, Walgreens and Raley's to allow customers to receive items directly from store shelves at their homes within a day.

March 22, 2013

Google is dogfooding a service called Google Shopping Express, which would offer same-day delivery from brick-and-mortar stores in the San Francisco Bay Area to the Internet giant's employees. Target and several other retailers have been named as possible partners.

With Google now looking to compete with Amazon — not to mention Target's growing attention to online and mobile commerce — a growing body of consumer studies and industry trends shows that the most important emerging consumer demographic isn't men, women, old people or young people — but multichannel consumers.

Google is offering a service called Google Shopping Express, which would offer same-day delivery from brick-and-mortar stores in the San Francisco Bay Area to the Internet giant's employees. Target and several other retailers have been named as possible partners.

March 20, 2013

Google is looking to launch a competitor to Amazon Prime, according to published reports.

NEW YORK — Google is looking to launch a competitor to Amazon Prime, according to published reports.

TechCrunch reported that Google was dogfooding a service called Google Shopping Express, which would offer same-day delivery from brick-and-mortar stores in the San Francisco Bay Area, but so far only to Google employees. Target, Nob Hill Foods and Babies'R'Us have been named as possible partners in the service, as well as five other stores in the area.

March 19, 2013

Based on a study of 10,000 U.S. consumers, Sam's Club and Amazon earned the top spots in the retail sector of the "2013 Temkin Experience Ratings," the Temkin Group announced Tuesday.

WABAN, Mass. — Based on a study of 10,000 U.S. consumers, Sam's Club and Amazon earned the top spots in the retail sector of the "2013 Temkin Experience Ratings," the Temkin Group announced Tuesday. 

Six additional retailers were in the top 20 overall, including Costco, which was tied for the No. 13 spot with Nordstrom. Four retailers tied for the No. 20 spot, including BJs Wholesale, Dollar Tree, PetSmart and Walgreens. Thirty-six out of the 44 retailers in the study earned a "good" or "excellent" rating.

February 20, 2013

Bartell Drugs will build its 59th store in one of Seattle's fastest-growing neighborhoods, the regional retail pharmacy chain said Wednesday.

SEATTLE — Bartell Drugs will build its 59th store in one of Seattle's fastest-growing neighborhoods, the regional retail pharmacy chain said Wednesday.

Bartells said it would open the store in the South Lake Union neighborhood, home to a growing number of residents and also Amazon's headquarters.

February 12, 2013

In a survey of more than 6,200 consumers collected during the peak holiday shopping season between Thanksgiving and Christmas, Amazon scored highest among 25 of the top mobile commerce companies in terms of customer satisfaction, according to a report released Tuesday by ForeSee.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — In a survey of more than 6,200 consumers collected during the peak holiday shopping season between Thanksgiving and Christmas, Amazon scored highest among 25 of the top mobile commerce companies in terms of customer satisfaction, according to a report released Tuesday by ForeSee. 

January 30, 2013

A report published Monday in The Seattle Times queried whether Amazon.com was ready to take its own Internet-driven fresh offering, called AmazonFresh, out of "limited-test" mode to pilot mode or even full-out launch mode this year.

SEATTLE — A report published Monday in The Seattle Times queried whether Amazon.com was ready to take its own Internet-driven fresh offering, called AmazonFresh, out of "limited-test" mode to pilot mode or even full-out launch mode this year. 

The report noted that Amazon had initially launched the service in 2007 and now services 80 area codes. 

November 8, 2012

People looking for a nice red or white to go with dinner might be able to find it online.

SEATTLE — People looking for a nice red or white to go with dinner might be able to find it online.

Amazon.com announced Thursday the launch of Amazon Wine, which will feature more than 1,000 wines from wineries around the country, and offer information such as details on tasting notes, food-pairing recommendations and total case production.

September 27, 2012

The company behind Soap.com has debuted an online shopping destination for natural, organic and sustainable products.

JERSEY CITY, N.J. — The company behind Soap.com has debuted an online shopping destination for natural, organic and sustainable products.

September 20, 2012

Four-out-of-every-5 smartphone users — 85.9 million people — accessed retail content on their device in July, according to a study by ComScore.

RESTON, Va. — Four-out-of-every-5 smartphone users — 85.9 million people — accessed retail content on their device in July, according to a study by ComScore.

Amazon led as the top retailer with an audience of 49.6 million visitors, representing 46.6% of smartphone owners, followed by eBay with 32.6 million visitors and Apple with 17.7 million visitors. Walmart had the largest reach among traditional brick-and-mortar retailers with 16.3 million visitors, followed by Target with 10 million visitors and Best Buy with 7.2 million smartphone visitors.

September 10, 2012

Belkin has unveiled a new collection of sleeves for the latest Amazon Kindle.

PLAYA VISTA, Calif. — Belkin has unveiled a new collection of sleeves for the latest Amazon Kindle.

Featuring a mix of fabrics, patterns and features, Belkin's 12 new designs offer maximum style, functionality and protection on the go for the 7-in. Amazon Kindle Fire HD.

June 15, 2012

This month, DSN C2B Mobile Insights presents the Drug Store Shopping Report Card. We asked our C2Bers to rate their most recent trip to the drug store — or wherever it is they go primarily to shop for pharmacy and health and beauty items. We received more than 1,500 responses from all over the country.

This month, DSN C2B Mobile Insights presents the Drug Store Shopping Report Card. We asked our C2Bers to rate their most recent trip to the drug store — or wherever it is they go primarily to shop for pharmacy and health and beauty items. We received more than 1,500 responses from all over the country.

May 22, 2012

Walmart topped the list of retailers on the BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands, according to a study commissioned by WPP Group and conducted by Millward Brown Optimor.

NEW YORK — Walmart topped the list of retailers on the BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands, according to a study commissioned by WPP Group and conducted by Millward Brown Optimor.

The BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands study identifies and ranks the world's most valuable 100 brands by their dollar value, an analysis based on financial data combined with consumer measures of brand equity.

May 7, 2012

Club retailer Costco Wholesale is looking to grow its online retail presence, according to published reports.

NEW YORK — Club retailer Costco Wholesale is looking to grow its online retail presence, according to published reports.

According to The Seattle Times, the company plans to introduce apps for Apple and Android devices this month in order to boost its online sales, which, at about $2 billion a year, are behind companies like Walmart and Amazon.

Citing industry statistics, The Seattle Times reported that Costco ranked 17th among online retailers, while Amazon had the top spot, and Walmart was fourth.

April 27, 2012

Groupon on Friday named Kal Raman to the role of SVP Americas.

CHICAGO — Groupon on Friday named Kal Raman to the role of SVP Americas.

Raman will oversee the company’s operations across 10 countries in North, Latin and South Americas and will be based in Groupon’s corporate headquarters in Chicago.

April 16, 2012

Given all the attention around the hotly contested Express Scripts-Medco merger, we thought we’d ask our C2B consumer reporters, if all things were equal and every pharmacy accepted their insurance, what would be the most important factors in choosing a pharmacy? Ninety-four percent said location/convenience, followed by customer service (50%). That's just a taste of what they told us.

Given all the attention around the hotly contested Express Scripts-Medco merger, Drug Store News thought we’d ask our C2B consumer reporters, if all things were equal and every pharmacy accepted their insurance, what would be the most important factors in choosing a pharmacy? Ninety-four percent said location/convenience, followed by customer service (50%). That's just a taste of what they told us.

March 16, 2012

During the 2011 holiday season, the top retail applications and websites combined — including Amazon, Best Buy, eBay, Target and Walmart — reached nearly 60% of smartphone owners, according to Nielsen.

NEW YORK — During the 2011 holiday season, the top retail applications and websites combined — including Amazon, Best Buy, eBay, Target and Walmart — reached nearly 60% of smartphone owners, according to Nielsen.

“The majority of smartphone owners used their devices for shopping this past holiday season,” said John Burbank, president of strategic initiatives at Nielsen. “Mobile shopping has reached scale and is only going to grow as smartphone penetration continues to rise.”

March 9, 2012

In the first DSN/C2B Mobile Insights report, we examine what consumers think about shopping for health and beauty online vs. brick-and-mortar retailers. Overall, nearly 8-of-10 consumers bought health-and-beauty-aid items online in the past year. Did they leave your store to buy? Did they use their smartphones to make a purchase and use YOUR STORE as a “showroom” for ANOTHER RETAILER’S website?

1) Have you purchased a health or beauty product online in the past year?