Welcome to RepricerExpress’ weekly round-up of the top five stories from the world of Amazon and ecommerce.
Amazon uses dummy parcels to catch thieves: BBC News reports that Amazon has teamed up with police in the US in an effort to stop thieves who steal parcels left outside homes. Officers in New Jersey are planting dummy boxes fitted with GPS trackers, coupled with hidden doorbell cameras, at homes around the city. The homes selected for the experiment were chosen using the city’s own crime statistics combined with mapping data of theft locations supplied by Amazon. One box was stolen three minutes after it was “delivered”. Continue reading…
Amazon extends free holiday shipping through December 18th: Dami Lee at The Verge reports that Amazon’s free holiday shipping promotion, which removes the minimum $25 purchase requirement for non-Prime members, has been extended until December 18th. Orders placed by then are guaranteed to arrive in time for Christmas. Amazon says it has also expanded free one-day shipping and free same-day delivery for Prime members to more than 10,000 cities this year, so last-minute gift buyers can shop for holiday items until December 24th. Continue reading…
Amazon Go is going small with tiny, cashier-free stores: Rachel Metz at CNN reports that over the past year, Amazon has opened seven of its Amazon Go stores to the public, ditching checkout lines for AI that tracks what customers want to buy. Now, the retailer is taking its cashier-free shops in a new, smaller direction. On Wednesday, Amazon opened its first pint-sized Amazon Go store, which takes up about 450 square feet inside one of its Seattle offices — a fraction of other Amazon Go locations, which range from 1,800 to 2,000 square feet. Continue reading…
Google’s new marketplace to compete with Amazon in France: Ecommerce News reports that Google Shopping will soon be more than just a simple price comparison engine. Early 2019, Google will introduce its own marketplace in France. With the new Google Shopping platform, the tech company will compete directly with Amazon. LSA published the exclusive news yesterday, saying Google beta launched its Google Shopping Actions program a few days ago. “This will result in the transformation of Google Shopping into a marketplace, which makes Google an ecommerce competitor of Amazon and Cdiscount.” Continue reading…
Under Armour is moving closer to Amazon as it bolsters its role as a publisher: Katie Deighton at The Drum reports that Under Armour’s senior vice-president of digital believes the sportswear label should “not only serve as a brand but also a publisher” and has pegged Amazon as a key partner as it seeks to legitimize itself in the fitness content space. Jim Mollica, the sports brand’s senior vice-president of global consumer engagement and digital, is a proponent of the traditional agency model when it comes to big brand campaigns. Continue reading…
Quote of the week:
“It always seems impossible until it’s done.”
Nelson Mandela
Have a great weekend!
