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August 10, 2022
On the web
Amazon Expands Whole Foods Contactless Payment Across California
Chain Store Age
“Amazon is making its Amazon One palm payment shopping experience available at a new set of Whole Foods Market stores. More than 65 Whole Foods Market stores across California will soon offer the Amazon One palm-based payment system that allows customers the option to use their palm to pay for purchases. This is the first broad roll out of Amazon One at Whole Foods Market stores following previous launches in Seattle, Austin, and select stores in New York and Los Angeles.”
July 26, 2022
On the web
Amazon Launches Seller Wallet for Cashing Out Sales Proceeds
Ecommerce Bytes
“Amazon launched a new wallet for global sellers to manage payouts more easily. It will roll out to sellers over the next few months. In a post on the About Amazon blog, Max Bardon, Vice President of Amazon Worldwide Payments, shared that the initial launch is available to a select number of small businesses. “We plan to collect feedback from sellers and continue to refine this tool over time.” Account maintenance is free, but when sellers convert and transfer funds, volume-based currency conversion and international transfer fees will apply. It plans to add capabilities including third-party payments and foreign exchange rate tools in the future.”
July 18, 2022
On the web
Amazon Debuts Cashierless Grocery Store Format in New York
Chain Store Age
“Amazon is opening two more Amazon Fresh high-tech grocery stores, including the first location in New York. About a week after introducing a new Amazon Fresh store in Arlington, Va. (the site where Amazon is currently constructing its “HQ2” second headquarters complex), the retailer is opening locations in Oceanside, N.Y. and Norridge, Ill. Amazon Fresh stores are designed from the ground up to offer a seamless shopping experience, with extra features for members of the Amazon Prime paid loyalty program.”
July 8, 2022
On the web
Amazon Offers a 0% Interest Buy Now, Pay Later Deal for Prime Day Shoppers Through its Partnership with Affirm
ZDNet
“Amazon announced Thursday that Prime Day shoppers can take advantage of a special Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) offer during its two-day sale. Approved Prime members will have the ability to choose from three BNPL plans for purchases of $50 or more. Customers can choose to finance their purchases over three, six, or 12 equal monthly payments at 0% interest. Amazon partnered with Affirm last year, with Affirm becoming the only BNPL provider for Amazon. The new deal follows the current Affirm promotional 0% APR offer, which began June 28, 2022, and ends July 11, a day before Prime Day begins. Normally the BNPL plans provided through Affirm carry an APR of 10% to 30%. Which, if you get 20% or 30% when you choose to finance, is a bit high. However, having a 0% APR can be a great way to avoid interest charges. Just be sure you’re paying your payments on time, as missing a payment will negatively impact your credit scores.”
May 31, 2022
On the web
Amazon Opens Its First Clothing Store in Los Angeles
95.5 WSB
“Amazon has expanded in many ways throughout the years, and now the e-commerce giant has launched a brick-and-mortar clothing store. The Amazon Style fashion retail space has opened at The Americana at Brand shopping mall in Los Angeles. The new concept offers a selection of apparel, shoes and accessories. The items featured in the store also have QR codes providing information from sizing to customer ratings, the company said.”
May 9, 2022
On the web
Google Cloud Assembles Web3 Team to Leverage Emerging Metaverse
“Google Cloud Platform is putting together a Web3 specialist team to take advantage of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. The cloud computing services suite says its new Web3 team will focus on building services for developers running blockchain applications. In addition, the team will also provide blockchain services to enterprises and customers looking to leverage the technology. The new Google Cloud Web3 division, to be helmed by former Citigroup executive James Tromans, already has a descriptive agenda set out. This reportedly includes better management of blockchain nodes as well as software for exploring blockchain data in third-party applications. Back in January, Google already hinted at this specialist division with pre-existing and established partnerships with blockchain projects. The company believes that the emerging metaverse and all its trappings offer so many untapped opportunities to exploit.”
April 26, 2022
On the web
Amazon Go: Inside the New Cashierless Store Moving in to the Suburbs
USA TODAY
“Amazon Go, the tech giant’s cashierless store concept, is ready for its move to the suburbs. The company is opening a new Go store in Mill Creek, Wash., on Tuesday morning, which it says will target customers living in suburban areas. Like its other Go stores, customers won’t need to visit a cash register when they’re ready to check out. They grab what they need and leave.”
March 31, 2022
On the web
Amazon Renews Prime Credit Card Tie-up With JPMorgan Chase After Flirting With American Express
CNBC
“Amazon has chosen to renew a deal allowing JPMorgan Chase to issue the tech giant’s flagship rewards credit card, ending months of heated negotiations, CNBC has learned. The Amazon Prime Rewards card was one of the industry’s most highly coveted co-brand deals, a rare prize because of the massive scope of Amazon’s loyalty program, with its estimated 150 million U.S. members, according to people with knowledge of the talks.”
March 9, 2022
On the web
Amazon Lied About Using Seller Data, Lawmakers Say, Urging DOJ Investigation
Ars Technica
“Amazon lied to Congress about its use of third-party seller data, the House Judiciary Committee said today. In a letter to the Department of Justice, the committee chairs asked prosecutors to investigate the company for criminal obstruction of Congress.”
March 3, 2022
On the web
Amazon to Shut Its Bookstores and Other Shops As Its Grocery Chain Expands
Reuters
“Amazon.com Inc said on Wednesday it plans to close all 68 of its brick-and-mortar bookstores, pop-ups and shops carrying toys and home goods in the United States and United Kingdom, ending some of its longest-running retail experiments. The news, which Reuters was first to report, marks a turning point for a company that began as an online bookseller and helped drive established rivals such as Borders to bankruptcy. Amazon said it would focus more on its grocery markets and a department store concept going forward.”
November 19, 2021
On the web
EXCLUSIVE Visa’s Chief Financial Officer Expects to Resolve Fee Row With Amazon
Reuters
“Visa (V.N) expects to resolve its credit card fee dispute with Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) in Britain and hopes to continue its co-branded credit card partnership with the e-commerce giant in the United States, its Chief Financial Officer told Reuters. Amazon said on Wednesday that it would stop taking payments from Visa credit cards in Britain from mid-January next year.”
November 18, 2021
On the web
Amazon May Drop Visa As Partner on U.S. Credit Card
Reuters
“Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) is considering dropping Visa (V.N) as partner on its U.S. co-branded credit card after earlier confirming it would stop accepting Visa credit cards in the United Kingdom as a dispute over payments intensified. The e-commerce giant is in talks with several payment networks including Mastercard Inc (MA.N) , American Express Co (AXP.N) and Visa as part of what it called its standard process for reviewing its co-branded credit card agreement, a spokesperson said.”
September 9, 2021
On the web
Amazon Developing New Point-of-sale System to Attract Small Businesses – Insider
Reuters
“Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) is working on a new type of point-of-sale system that can be sold to third-party sellers, Insider reported on Wednesday. The new system can handle both online and offline transactions and can also link to other services including Prime and Flex, the report added, citing an internal document… The move will allow Amazon to compete with Canada’s Shopify (SHOP.TO) and U.S. payments giant PayPal (PYPL.O) , which already offer POS systems for payments for small businesses, that have moved online during the pandemic to boost sales. Project Santos, created by an internal Amazon team to compete with Shopify, is leading the project, the report said.”
July 22, 2021
On the web
Amazon Ends Use of Arbitration for Customer Disputes
The New York Times
“In a brief email to customers, Amazon said anyone using its products would now have to pursue disputes with the company in federal court, rather than go through the private and secretive arbitration process, which critics say puts consumers at a huge disadvantage . “This is a big deal,” said Florencia Marotta-Wurgler, a professor at New York University Law School who focuses on consumer law. “For so long, the tide had been going the other way, with companies adding arbitration clauses to their contracts.””
July 2, 2021
On the web
Amazon Pay Later Hits 2 Million Sign-Ups Mark in India
NDTV Gadgets 360
“Amazon Pay Later has reached the milestone of two million customers who have signed up for the service in a little over a year since its launch, Amazon has announced. The credit service specifically for Amazon India customers was launched in April last year to let them make purchases of essential and high-value items by either paying the price next month or in monthly instalments. Amazon’s offering was designed to take on the likes of LazyPay and Flipkart Pay Later. It was introduced as a rebranding of the Amazon Pay EMI service that debuted in 2018.”
June 24, 2021
On the web
This Year’s Prime Day Broke Sales Records
CNN
“Amazon ( AMZN ) said that Prime Day, held this past Monday and Tuesday, was the biggest two-day sales period for third-party sellers in the company’s history. Amazon said sales from third-party merchants outpaced its own sales.Amazon also said Prime members purchased more than 250 million items worldwide on Prime Day. Robotic vacuums, coffee makers and Crest Whitestrips were some of the top-selling products.”
March 4, 2021
On the web
Amazon Launches Its First Cashierless Store in Britain
CNBC
“Amazon launched its first checkout-free store in Britain Thursday. Called Amazon Fresh, the store is located in Ealing, London, and will let customers walk in, pick up what they want and walk out again without having to pay at a cash register. The items appear on a virtual receipt linked to customers’ Amazon accounts moments later.”
February 17, 2021
On the web
Amazon Acquires Selz, a Shopify Competitor That Helps Small Businesses Build Online Stores
CNBC
“Amazon has bought Selz, a company that makes tools to help businesses launch their own online stores. Amazon quietly acquired the e-commerce platform on Jan. 15, but it didn’t publicize the acquisition. Selz announced the deal in a company blog post .”
February 11, 2021
On the web
Amazon Preparing to Launch a ‘Digital Currency’ Project in Mexico – CoinDesk
CoinDesk
“Amazon’s grip on the internet economy appears to be coming for currency next, with the e-commerce giant preparing to launch a “digital currency” project in Mexico. The yet-to-be-announced project, which Amazon sketched out across a series of recent job posts , appears to be an effort to keep lucrative Prime customers eternally plugged into Amazon’s platform.”
November 10, 2020
On the web
Amazon Charged With Antitrust Violations by European Regulators
NYTimes
“European Union regulators brought antitrust charges against Amazon on Tuesday, saying the online retail giant broke competition laws by unfairly using its size and access to data to harm smaller merchants who rely on the company to reach customers.”
November 9, 2020
On the web
Amazon rolls out rewards program that makes it easier for drivers to get work
CNBC
“Amazon is launching a rewards program for its legions of Flex delivery drivers that gives them a leg up when it comes to the app’s competitive shift selection process. The company quietly added a section to the Flex website and an app on Apple’s App Store that advertise the program, called Amazon Flex Rewards. The rewards program offers drivers a number of perks, including access to a debit card and the ability to reserve customized delivery shifts.”
October 21, 2020
On the web
Amazon launches a program to pay consumers for their data on non-Amazon purchases
TechCrunch
“Amazon has launched a new program that directly pays consumers for information about what they’re purchasing outside of Amazon.com and for responding to short surveys. The program, Amazon Shopper Panel , asks users to send in 10 receipts per month for any purchases made at non-Amazon retailers, including grocery stores, department stores, drug stores and entertainment outlets (if open), like movie theaters, theme parks and restaurants.”
October 5, 2020
On the web
Amazon Launches Credit Card Bill Payments Feature
Entrackr
“E-commerce giant Amazon India has launched a new feature where customers can make their credit card bill payments through Amazon Pay. With the new feature, Amazon will join the likes of Paytm, PhonePe and others which offer credit card bill payment option on their app.”
July 14, 2020
On the web
Amazon Supermarket Will Roll Out Fancy New Smart Cart When It Opens
Ars Technica
“The Amazon Dash cart will launch along with the company’s Los Angeles supermarket later this year, the company said today. The smart cart requires a customer to log in to the cart using the Amazon app on their phone, then uses a system of cameras and sensors to take stock of what a shopper puts in the basket. It also has a touchscreen panel on the front handle, so consumers can purchase items that don’t have barcodes, such as fresh produce. When a shopper is done with their grocery trip, they roll the cart out of the “dash lane,” grab their now paid-for groceries, and saunter away.”
June 25, 2020
On the web
Amazon Is One Step Closer to Taking a 16% Stake in UK Food Delivery Firm Deliveroo
CNBC
“Amazon’s investment in London-headquartered food delivery start-up Deliveroo is looking increasingly likely to be approved by the U.K. competition regulator. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced on Wednesday that it has “provisionally cleared” an Amazon investment that would give it a 16% stake in the company.”
June 17, 2020
On the wires
Mastercard Powers Faster, Seamless Online Shopping Experiences for Amazon Customers
“Today, Mastercard announced that Amazon customers in 12 countries across North America, Latin America, Middle East and Europe will have their stored card credentials tokenized. By replacing a consumer’s physical card number with a token, payment information is unique to each individual transaction and can be used only by the merchant that requested it. Amazon will begin using Mastercard tokens for transactions through 2020.”
June 10, 2020
On the web
Amazon Unveils Small Business Credit Line With Goldman in Latest Tie-up Between Tech and Wall Street
CNBC
“Amazon is introducing a new digital credit line for U.S.-based merchants with partner bank Goldman Sachs , CNBC has learned exclusively. Small business owners who sell items on the e-commerce giant’s platform will soon be receiving targeted invitations from Goldman’s Marcus brand for credit lines of up to $1 million, according to people with knowledge of the project.”
June 5, 2020
On the web
Amazon in Talks to Buy $2 Billion Stake in Indian Telco Bharti Airtel
Reuters
“Amazon.com is in early-stage talks to buy a stake worth at least $2 billion in Indian mobile operator Bharti Airtel, three people with knowledge of the discussions told Reuters, in a move that could turbocharge India’s digital economy. The planned investment, if completed, would mean Amazon acquiring a roughly 5% stake based on the current market value of Bharti and would give India’s third-largest telecoms company a boost as it seeks to compete against the number one player Reliance Jio.”
February 18, 2020
On the wires
Cardtronics Allpoint+ ATMs Now Enabling Customers to Add Cash to Their Amazon Balance With Amazon Cash
Globalnewswire
“Cardtronics , the world’s largest ATM operator, today announced that Amazon customers can now complete Amazon Cash transactions at more than 400 cash-accepting Cardtronics ATMs in the U.S. The ATMs, part of the Allpoint+ Network of surcharge-free deposit-taking ATMs for Allpoint members, operate card-free, allowing Amazon customers to add cash to their Amazon Balance to make future purchases on Amazon’s online store using only the phone number linked to their Amazon account with no added fees.”
January 30, 2020
On the web
Amazon Reports $87.4 Billion in Q4 2019 Revenue: AWS up 34%, Subscriptions up 32%, and ‘other’ up 41%
VentureBeat
“Subscription services were up 32% to $5.24 billion. This segment mainly constitutes Amazon Prime , which the company has expanded to offer deals at places like Whole Foods . Keeping in line with this strategy, Amazon announced today that Prime members now get free delivery through Amazon Fresh, which normally costs $14.99 per month. Amazon Prime membership was the main takeaway that Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos wanted to focus on this quarter. He shared that Amazon now has over 150 million paid Prime members, up from 100 million Prime members in April 2018.”
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