Amazon.com
October 20, 2017 at 12:32 pm
Stitch Fix, the online personalized styling service, announced yesterday that it has filed for an initial public offering (IPO). While the company didn't state how much it expects to raise, sources familiar with the situation said the retailer anticipates it will be valued at roughly $3 billion to $4 billion. An IPO filing had been…
October 11, 2017 at 10:24 am
Amazon.com is attempting to attract more more students into its lucrative Prime loyalty program. The retailer announced a new offer for college students: $5.49 monthly subscription plan bundled into a free six-month trial offer. So essentially anyone with an .edu email address can get Amazon Prime free for six months, after which they can elect…
October 11, 2017 at 9:38 am
Ikea will soon sell its products through third-party online retailers in an attempt to reach more customers. A pilot program is scheduled to start sometime next year, the Swedish furniture retailer said Tuesday. The company is "curious" about what will happen as it plans to gather new insights from the pilot, Ikea spokesperson Josefin Thorell said…
October 9, 2017 at 11:53 am
Costco announced last week that it's offering customers same-day grocery delivery. On Thursday, the company announced two new delivery options: two-day delivery for dry goods, and same-day delivery for orders that include fresh foods. The same-day service will be powered by grocery delivery company Instacart. The same-day delivery option, available in “most metropolitan areas,” lets…
October 9, 2017 at 11:32 am
In its ongoing effort to compete with Amazon.com, Wal-Mart announced a new way of handling in-store returns of online purchases that it claims could shrink the processing time to 35 seconds. Starting next month, Mobile Express Returns will enable consumers to begin a return process on Wal-Mart’s app before bringing the item in question to any…
October 6, 2017 at 12:07 pm
Amazon.com has been ordered to pay 250 million euros ($294 million) to Luxembourg after the European Commission (EC) found that the online retailer received illegal tax benefits. The EC says Amazon received tax advantages between 2006 and 2014 in the country without any "valid justification." Margrethe Vestager, the EU's commissioner for competition, said in a statement,…
October 5, 2017 at 12:49 pm
Amazon.com is experimenting with a new delivery service for its online sellers to make more products available for two-day shipping. Bloomberg reports the new service, rumored to be titled Seller Flex, will help relieve overcrowding in its warehouses, which will push the online retailer deeper into functions handled by longtime partners UPS and FedEx. Amazon will…
October 3, 2017 at 11:31 am
Wal-Mart has acquired the same-day delivery service Parcel, as it continues to focus on getting orders to customers’ front doors more quickly. Brooklyn-based Parcel offers evening deliveries and can handle perishable and frozen foods. According to Wal-Mart, Parcel has partnerships with several meal-kit and grocery companies. This is the latest move in Wal-Mart's battle with Amazon.com over delivery. Last…
October 3, 2017 at 10:59 am
After chatting with and listening to retail executives at last week's Shop.org conference in Los Angeles, I left the event with the following three themes: 1. Amazon.com is a Behemoth, But We Have Brands and Communities The overriding sense I got listening to retailers at Shop.org is that while they understand that trying to compete…
September 12, 2017 at 12:29 pm
As Amazon.com grows its business through technology, spending on the latest and greatest tools to optimize the customer experience, from product discovery through delivery and post-purchase, other retailers have been left behind. In order to catch up to and eventually surpass Amazon, retailers are analyzing their own businesses to see where well-spent investments can help…
