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Emily Bova

E-Commerce News: Ghost of Christmas Past Haunts Amazon - 0 views

  • Amazon's net income was US$177 million, or 38 cents per share, a 57 percent percent drop from a year ago.
  • Sales for the three months before Dec. 31 came out to $17.4 billion, lower than Wall Street expected over the traditionally busy holiday season.
  • Flooding in Thailand slowed down production for many tech companies this year
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  • The company used more third-party vendors than usual, which helps margins but cuts down drastically in revenue.
  • The world's largest online retailer has also been using promotions such as the Amazon Prime program, where customers can pay $79 a year to receive unlimited two-day shipping. The offer draws customers to the site, but over a busy holiday season, the shipping costs hit the retailer hard.
  • lower demand than it expected for video game sales and European currency fluctuations
  • A lot of people underestimate the profit of the e-book. You don't have to pay money for delivering or printing, so you can get tremendous revenue,"
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    In Amazon's last quarter, net income dropped by 57 percent from a year ago. Sales for the three months before December 31 came out to $17.4 billion, lower than Wall Street expected over the traditionally busy holidy season. It is predicted that for the next quarter outlook, there could be anywhere from a gain of $100 million to a loss of $200 million. While Amazon continues to profit in sales of its best selling Kindle devices, there were a variety of factors that contirbuted to its losses. The flooding in Thailand slowed down production for many tech companies. Third-party sellers (which give a 13% commission to Amazon as oppsoed to 100% commission when Amazon sells themselves) were used more than usual. Promotions such as the Amazon Prime program which allows the customer to pay a fixed rate and get umlimited two-day shipping hurt the retailer hard over the busy holiday season with shipping costs. Other reasons were lower demand for skimwords
cwilliamsiona

Amazon Developing Hand-Scanning Payment System | HYPEBEAST - 0 views

  • Amazon is reportedly in the process of developing a system that scans users’ hands to receive payment instead of a physical credit card, cash or phone system.
  • This method would be particularly useful for shops users frequent often, like their local grocery store.
  • “Customers might insert cards into a terminal and then let the terminal scan their hands.
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  • Initial reports in 2019 stated that Amazon was planning to roll out the new technology at Whole Foods locations, as it now owns the supermarket chain
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    This article is about the future of POS systems and what we as consumers can look forward to in the near future. In this article, Emily Engle discusses the current talks Amazon has to implement scans of user's hands to receive payment instead of a physical credit cards, cash or phone systems during your point of sale transaction. Although, just an idea for some retail giants, some retailers in other markets such as China and India use biometric features during point of sale transactions. To get things started, Amazon believes that customers will enter their credit/debit card and scan your print during this initial process. After that you will never need your card again. It is said that since Amazon owes Whole Foods, they will begin the testing period there. Using this new method of shopping, if it comes to fruition, could useful for frequent visitors.
mcont036

Will Amazon's New Palm Recognition Become the Next Popular Biometric Technology? | By L... - 0 views

  • Amazon recently introduced a new biometric payment device, Amazon One, in two of its Go stores in Seattle. Shoppers can now enter and pay at cashier-free Amazon Go stores by scanning their palms.
  • Amazon One enables consumers to avoid touching the surfaces that others may have touched earlier.
  • Places with high foot traffic, such as stadiums, restaurants, retail stores, office buildings, and any gated or secured facilities, could benefit from the device.
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  • Some believe that palm recognition is a less-risky biometric technology because our palm is not as easily observable as our face or ear print.
  • Technology-wise, palm recognition does not need to solve some of the unique challenges that facial or fingerprint recognition encounter. For instance, not all devices using facial recognition can tell the differences between identical twins.
  • Amazon One will store consumers' palm data in the cloud, and they can choose to remove the data later.
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    Amazon has introduced a new biometric payment device that works by having shoppers scan their palms. This is similar to the Amazon Go app where shoppers can set up a credit card and scan the app on the way into an Amazon store. Palm scanning works well in a the current climate where people do not want to touch things others have also touched. This technology could be implemented and work well in places with high foot traffic such as stadiums. Palm scanning also has some security advantages. Palms are not as easy to observe and read as faces and not as commonly used as fingerprints. The data will be stored in the cloud and consumers have the option of removing it later, which helps some feel safer with regards to security concerns.
natalieemmanuel

Alibaba has solved the one problem Amazon can't: B2B e-commerce - Fortune - 2 views

  • Incredibly, many businesses today still buy and sell supplies and materials with paper invoices, faxes, and checks. It’s a huge opportunity on which the two largest e-commerce companies in the U.S., eBay and Amazon, have not focused. Both companies run marketplaces, but they specialize in consumer-facing goods, not wholesale items and business supplies. Amazon has been running AmazonSupply, a wholesale site, in beta for two years, as CEO Jeff Bezos promotes increasingly flashier schemes around drone delivery, TV shows, mobile phones, and publishing.
  • But there is one true giant in the category: Alibaba, the Chinese retail darling that last week revealed plans for a $21.12 billion initial public offering, which has dominated in B2B e-commerce. I was reminded of this over the weekend while listening to Planet Money’s entertaining explainer of the Alibaba wholesale market. Through Alibaba.com and 1688.com, the company provides to people everywhere access to the Chinese supply chain. This means tinkerers, builders, entrepreneurs, and small businesses can order custom motors and parts from Chinese factories without having to travel there, find a scout, and forge a relationship with a manufacturer before doing business.
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    In the year2000 it was predicted that B2B e-commerce would be a trillion dollar market. However, what actually happened was underwhelming compared to the predictions previously made as the market only made about $559 billion. Surprisingly, most businesses still buy and sell products the "old fashioned" way using fax, paper invoices and paper checks. The big question is, why aren't the large e-commerce companies, including Ebay and Amazon, banking in on this market? Amazon has been testing a wholesale site called AmazonSupply for about two years. However, much like Ebay, Amazon specializes in selling consumer-facing goods. There is one e-commerce company who is dominating the market. Alibaba is a Chinese retail giant that is leading the B2B e-commerce world. Alibaba has succeeded by opening up the world of international suppliers to companies without having to form a relationship with the manufacturer before purchasing supplies. By using Alibaba as a mediator between businesses and suppliers, businesses can buy products in bulk without actually having to travel to China to do it. Alibaba has given businesses access to many manufacturers that they most likely otherwise would not have access to.
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    In the year2000 it was predicted that B2B e-commerce would be a trillion dollar market. However, what actually happened was underwhelming compared to the predictions previously made as the market only made about $559 billion. Surprisingly, most businesses still buy and sell products the "old fashioned" way using fax, paper invoices and paper checks. The big question is, why aren't the large e-commerce companies, including Ebay and Amazon, banking in on this market? Amazon has been testing a wholesale site called AmazonSupply for about two years. However, much like Ebay, Amazon specializes in selling consumer-facing goods. There is one e-commerce company who is dominating the market. Alibaba is a Chinese retail giant that is leading the B2B e-commerce world. Alibaba has succeeded by opening up the world of international suppliers to companies without having to form a relationship with the manufacturer before purchasing supplies. By using Alibaba as a mediator between businesses and suppliers, businesses can buy products in bulk without actually having to travel to China to do it. Alibaba has given businesses access to many manufacturers that they most likely otherwise would not have access to.
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    For an individual shopper, Alibaba has also created Ali Express, which gives an individual access to the same staggering number of products at near wholesale prices. They do indeed appear to have broken the code on B2B sales while still providing availability to the consumer. Win-win.
kpony001

Cloud security: The reason hackers have it so easy will infuriate you - 0 views

  • hackers time and again have outwitted the cyberguardians.
  • HashiCorp offers an open-source tool called Vault that stores sensitive credentials, encrypted themselves, and strictly limits what people, servers and programs can access them
  • The mass movement of company and personal data to the cloud has only complicated things.
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  • Companies have uploaded VPN and cloud access credentials to cloud storage systems that are easily accessible.
  • security breaches are routinely made worse when hackers who enter one system are then finding the keys to another lying around unencrypted.
  • developers are still regularly storing the digital keys to company assets and even user data in source code, configuration files, and other miscellaneous, unencrypted locations.
  • Unlike typical users who can memorize their passwords or store them with a secure password manager, developers and IT workers often need to keep security credentials in places where automated software can find them.
  • Cloud managers are playing catchup to close the door on the critical data left out in the open.
  • Sophisticated new cybersecurity tools designed to securely store these kinds of credentials in a way that legitimate, automated processes can access, and intruders can’t
  • hackers time and again have outwitted the cyberguardians.
  • cloud industry leader Amazon launched AWS Secrets Manager, its own credential management tool. And Microsoft offers what it calls Azure Key Vault to securely store and monitor and control access to this kind of data.
  • The main problem is that companies really don’t have policies for it or they don’t follow up and make sure those policies are followed
  • Until recent hacks made it clear that few organizations can hope to keep their networks entirely free from intrusion, many companies paid less attention to the security of data within their firewalls
  • UpGuard, known for its frequent role in detecting leaks tied to data stored on insecure cloud machines, has released BreachSight, which scours the internet for its clients’ exposed code, credentials, personally identifiable information, and other sensitive data.
  • Since last year, Amazon has also offered a service called Amazon Macie, which uses machine learning to detect unusual access patterns to cloud storage and uploads of potentially sensitive data like access keys.
  • Amazon also released open source software to help prevent accidentally storing passwords and keys to source code repositories
  • other developers have offered similar tools to scrub credentials from existing code.
  • it’s possible that those types of tools will automatically be provided as part of cloud computing contracts, as standard as seatbelts in new cars.
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    Cloud computing has created a very hacking prone storage system because companies have not been paying as much attention to security as they should. Thus, by not taking the logical measures such as not uploading credentials to cloud storage systems, they are becoming prone to hacker raids. However, with the turning of the tide, new methods of security have presented themselves in the form of online tools such as HashiCorp's Vault Microsoft's Azure Key Vault, and Amazon's AWS Secrets Manager, which stores sensitive credentials in very limited access windows, as well as UpGaurd's BreachSight which detects online data leaks containing exposed and volatile client data, and Amazon's Amazon Macie, which learns the access patterns of your cloud storage,
anonymous

Wal-Mart Ditches Amazon Prime-Like Service, Reduces Free 2-Day Shipping Requirements - 0 views

  • Wal-Mart Ditches Amazon Prime-Like Service, Reduces Free 2-Day Shipping Requirements
  • Marc Lore, president and CEO of Wal-Mart U.S. eCommerce, said in a statement. "Two-day free shipping is the first of many moves we will be making to enhance the customer experience and accelerate growth."
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    With increased competition, Walmart is now offering a similar program to that of Amazon. Now Walmart shoppers are able to utilize free 2 day shipping with a purchase of over $35 (a decrease from that of $50 before). By decreasing the price Walmart will now enable more of its shoppers to take advantage. Marc Lore, president and CEO of Walmart US eCommerce said "in today's world of eCommerce, two day free shipping is table stakes. It no longer makes sense to charge for it." Amazon made just shy of $513 million in the first quarter of 2016 (Wired.com). I'm sure this is one way in which Walmart aims to get a piece of that pie in 2017.
ianpmyers

India's tightens e-commerce rules, likely to hit Amazon, Flipkart - 0 views

  • India will ban e-commerce companies such as Amazon.com and Walmart -owned Flipkart Group from selling products from companies in which they have an equity interest.
  • The new regulations follow complaints from Indian retailers and traders who say e-commerce companies like Amazon have created an unfair marketplace.
  • India’s retail market is dominated by small corner shops, which are now threatened by the e-commerce giants.
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  • E-commerce companies can make bulk purchases through their wholesale units or other group companies that in turn sell the products to select sellers, such as their affiliates or other companies with which they have agreements.
  • In a statement, the government also said that the companies will be prevented from entering into exclusive agreements with sellers. The new rules will be applicable from February 1.
  • Those sellers can then sell the products to other companies or direct to consumers, often at attractively low prices.
  • New rules will appease small traders and farmers who fear that U.S. companies are making a back door entry into India’s retail market and could squeeze out small corner shops that dominate Indian retailing.
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    This article describes India's more stringent regulations in regards to E-commerce. These new regulations specifically target industry giants like Amazon and Flipkart. The new regulations do not allow companies to sell any products that they have an equity interest in. This is intended to protect small local retail shops in India.
anonymous

Shopify, the e-commerce company that's coming for Amazon - Vox - 0 views

  • Helmed by internet personalities with a combined 40 million-plus subscribers on the video platform and roughly 50 million more followers on other social media networks, then breathlessly promoted with nearly five hours of videos that drew more than 90 million viewers, the flash sale planned for the afternoon of November 1 was inevitably going to be massive.
  • Organizers recognized that it would be an event, and that it was going to need Shopify
  • Currently more than 1 million merchants around the globe use the company’s technology to open their own digital storefronts and sell goods on the internet, creating a constellation of independent, and decentralized, stores (unlike marketplaces like eBay or Etsy)
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  • Shopify has worked to position itself as the online commerce solution with the experience and size to support fast-growing, digitally native brands — the company’s tech has powered direct-to-consumer staples such as Allbirds and Brooklinen —
  • Last year, the company announced plans to invest $1 billion over five years on warehouse space and robotics to build out a fulfillment network so Shopify can also deliver your packages.
  • But what really has made the Shopify platform a bit of a juggernaut is its comprehensiveness
  • Currently, 1.4 million full-time jobs globally are supported by companies using Shopify.
  • who can tap their networks to instantly bring “high quality, low volume goods” into the world.
  • The company expects to see roughly $1.5 billion in revenue in 2019, a 50 percent jump from the previous year, and continues to see strong growth in subscription revenue.
  • Shopify software was processing $1.5 million in sales and 16,000 checkouts a minute.
  • Shopify’s plan is to lease warehouse space, and utilize robotics technology from a company called 6 River Systems, which they purchased in October for $450 million
  • Companies that sign up for the program can even have their own logo stamped on the box, unlike Amazon third-party sellers, which end up advertising Bezos’s latest project.
  • Trying to take on Amazon and its fulfillment network is a daunting task. That $1 billion investment Shopify is making may sound massive, but Amazon plans to spend $64 billion on logistics and shipping alone in 2019.
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    Is Shopify the new Amazon? If you do not know what Shopify is, it is an ecommerce platform for companies to use to sell their goods. It helps merchants to set up simple website store fronts and allows them to customize their store anyway they want. It also assists them will marketing campaigns, distribution, and shipping.
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    Very interesting article! This introduces Shopify as one the new ecommerce platform that allows individuals to set up the way they want to see their store front. It allows them to manage everything on this platform. Almost like a direct competitor to Amazon.Very interesting market for exponential growth!
mperk010

Who is Andy Jassy? Amazon's new CEO ushered in the era of cloud computing | Amazon | Th... - 0 views

  • the company’s website, a cloud hosting product that creates the
  • Jassy went on to found Amazon Web Services, according to
  • The company now owns almost half the world’s public cloud infrastructure market. It boasts a dominant 30% market sha
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  • infrastructure used by millions of companies, schools, and governments to run websites and apps.
  • re of the cloud computing market.
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    This article talks about when Andy Jassy started at amazon. He also started their cloud computing. Amazon now owns 30% of all cloud computing. This is almost half of the worlds public cloud computing infrastructure!
natyangel

Is Your E-Commerce Platform Ready for the Next Disruption? | E-Commerce | E-Commerce Times - 0 views

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    This article discusses how it is difficult for many businesses to get into the e-commerce world the same way Amazon is. It also explains how to develop a successful e-commerce strategy. Every business is trying to achieve the same success that Amazon has, but businesses are struggling. In the article it states, "the e-commerce strategies most retailers employ don't address the root causes of their problems. Their strategies don't address customers' needs, so their customers go elsewhere." This simply means that businesses are trying to fix their issues with different solutions. They are not going into the e-commerce industry with all the right reasons. Some fashion businesses are addressing the customer need for affordable fashion better than other businesses. In order for businesses to tackle the e-commerce world, they must follow the steps stated in the article. Step 1: Identify the targeted customer segment - Businesses need to have the ability to target each customer segment differently based on interests. Step 2: Identify customer needs of the targeted segment - understanding customer needs is one of the most important steps. Step 3: Develop strategies to meet those needs - strategies need to be put into action to be able to satisfy customer needs. Step 4: Enable with technology - It is highly recommended that companies use the right technology when starting their online business. They could either partner with other sites such as Amazon, or use different technology (software) to create it themselves. In the end, businesses need to solely understand the customer needs above all else. Understanding needs will lead the business to know how to sell their products/services online. Businesses will be able to take over the e-commerce world when they apply these simple steps to conduct strategies.
jamigovaerts

How proximity marketing can help the high street | The Drum - 0 views

  • beacons haven’t taken over the marketing world in the way so many predicted, however, some of the world’s biggest brands are redefining the customer experience with proximity marketing - with or without beacons.
  • Amazon is trying to reshape the in-store customer experience with a fleet of Amazon Go stores where customers can simply walk in, pick the items they want and walk right out - no queues and no physical payments action whatsoever.
  • One of the most successful uses of proximity marketing also happens to be one of the oldest, though. The Starbucks mobile app allows customers to place orders, pay in-store, collect rewards and receive custom offers from the biggest name in high street coffee.
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  • shopping habits are changing and online spending continues to increase. Yet, there are parts of the consumer journey that online-only technology can’t fulfil - and this is where retailers need to innovate most.
  • The technology that powers proximity marketing is only going to improve as smart cities grow and IoT becomes a part of our everyday lives. But the technology, in its current state, is already there to redefine customer experiences and the way consumers engage with brands, based on their immediate location.
  • When Apple launched iBeacons in 2013, proximity marketing became the industry’s favourite trend. With the right technology, this hyper-localised strategy was supposed to bridge the divide between online content and offline consumer action but Apple’s iBeacon platform ultimately failed to take off.
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    Module 6: Proximity Marketing This article focuses on the use of proximity marketing in 2020, and discusses how beacons have not taken over the offline and online market like Apple and Google originally hoped they would. Discussed in the article is how Amazon is utilizing proximity marketing in their Amazon Go stores This technology in a COVID-19 world will allow shoppers the flexibility to go outside of their homes and continue to social distance as all payments occur as, " customers can simply walk in, pick the items they want and walk right out - no queues and no physical payments action whatsoever." Similar to Starbucks where guests pay directly on their phones, the proximity marketing market will continue to grow as technology continues to advance. According to the article, "The technology, in its current state, is already there to redefine customer experiences and the way consumers engage with brands, based on their immediate location."
dnune013

EXCLUSIVE Amazon considers more proactive approach to determining what belongs on its c... - 1 views

As we discussed cloud computer throughout this module, many of us have mentioned that their places of work within the hospitality industry utilize cloud computing for data storage and in their dail...

cloud computing amazon

ldevaul

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts Selects AWS as Its Preferred Cloud Provider to Enhance Guest E... - 0 views

  • Today, Amazon Web Services, Inc. (AWS), an Amazon.com, Inc. company, announced a global collaboration with Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, Inc., a hotel franchising company, to upgrade its technology infrastructure and develop and deliver new guest services across its 21 hotel brands — including Days Inn, La Quinta, Microtel, Ramada, Super 8, and Wyndham.
  • Today, Amazon Web Services, Inc. (AWS), an Amazon.com, Inc. company, announced a global collaboration with Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, Inc., a hotel franchising company, to upgrade its technology infrastructure and develop and deliver new guest services across its 21 hotel brands — including Days Inn, La Quinta, Microtel, Ramada, Super 8, and Wyndham.
    • ldevaul
       
      This is HUGE!
  • putting it on track to achieve its goal of running 90% of its infrastructure in the cloud.
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  • For example, Wyndham will use AWS machine learning to help optimize over 90,000 daily rate changes across its approximately 9,000 hotels to help maximize occupancy rates that vary according to factors such as location, weather, and time of year.
  • xpanding its presence in the cloud will enable Wyndham to focus on growing its core hotel franchise business—seamlessly integrating new properties into its network—while leveraging AWS’s proven global infrastructure to help meet demand where it arises post-pandemic during the peak summer travel season. 
  • In addition, Wyndham will use AWS to develop new digital services for guests to automate check-in and leverage AWS partners to deliver customized offers during hotel stays, such as recommendations on local attractions, restaurants, and entertainment. 
  • Looking ahead, Wyndham will use AWS to remain agile and adapt to rapidly changing guest and market needs with plans to use AWS machine learning to drive demand with greater personalization and more timely and relevant guest offers.
  • “By moving the majority of our workloads to the cloud, Wyndham was able to rapidly respond to the changing business conditions brought on by COVID-19, and now we’re positioned to scale our operations as different parts of the world begin to reopen.
  • “The hotel industry has faced a series of rapid changes recently, yet by running on AWS Wyndham gains the insights and agility it needs to support its franchisees, transform its customer engagement, service, and business models, and remain an industry leader,”
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    This article announces the global collaboration between Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Wyndham Hotels & Resorts Inc. This collaboration is going to allow the Wyndham to upgrade their infrastructure tech and deliver an entirely new way to experience customer service. What I found to be very interesting, besides Wyndham being 90% cloud based, was that AWS is going to help the hotelier develop a new way for guest to automate check-in and leverage AWS partner to deliver customized offers. It will be able to recommend local attractions, restaurants, and entertainment.
vriverol

Airbnb is out, new disruptors are in | Hotel Management - 1 views

  • At first blush, it may seem that Sorenson was calling out the likes of Airbnb, a common target blamed for poaching travelers seeking hotels. However, this is not the case. Instead, Sorenson said it is the likes of Google, Facebook, Amazon and Alibaba that have captured his attention.
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  • . Instead, Sorenson said it is the likes of Google, Facebook, Amazon and Alibaba that have captured his attention.
  • “They are all trying to have a profile for every customer, so how do we use that to make sure we are monetizing as much of that relationship as we can?
  • If companies such as Google, Amazon or Facebook make a push into the hospitality business, there is no doubt that the level of disruption on the current business environment would be staggering.
  • Getting to know your customers and what they value is something that Amazon, Google and Facebook have mastered
  • According to Nassetta, hotels and hotel operators are masters of their environments. If they fail to capture guest attention, it is no one’s fault but their own.
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    While Airbnb is still one of the larger competitors the hotel industry is up against, at the NYU Hospitality Conference, a new possible disruptor was brought into question. Speakers began to discuss the possible disruption that online services like Google and Amazon to name a few. The advantages that these companies have, should they dive into the realm of hospitality, is the sheer amount of information that these sites contain about the consumer. Although they have this extensive data, they are lacking in interpersonal experience as these companies don't deal with the consumer physically. The hotel industry however, leads far ahead of these companies in this regard, as it's what they've been known for. However, for the hotel industry to ultimately come out on top, they will need to partner with these companies and work together, rather than be taken down. 
tgore002

Mukesh Ambani may be the surprise winner from India's new rules hurting Amazon and Walm... - 1 views

  • E-commerce in India is gearing up for some massive changes from February 1. Foreign e-commerce players — like Amazon and Flipkart — will no longer be able to offer consumers ‘deep discounts’ or sell their own brands through their respective platforms. It’s a big blow to Jeff Bezos’ and Walmart, and not the best news for consumers in India. Local vendors are voicing their support for the new policy, hoping they can regain some market share, without having to lose more money by offering discounts.
balle028

Ford's adding Amazon's Alexa to 700,000 vehicles this year - Roadshow - 0 views

    • balle028
       
      As many cars are embracing smart features, Ford an American vehicle is implementing the smart feature as well, at one point on star was prevalent however applications have emerged
  • Amazon's popular Alexa voice assistant is about to hitch a ride in a lot more Ford vehicles. On Thursday, the automaker announced upcoming over-the-air software updates will bring Alexa to 700,000 vehicles this year. Millions of other vehicles will gain access in the coming years after Ford inked a deeper "strategic engagement" with Amazon for the next six years.
  • The strategy includes the possibility of releasing Alexa skills (Alexa's equivalent of apps) specific to Ford vehicles. Maybe Alexa will be able to flick on Ford's BlueCruise hands-free driving system. That'd be pretty cool. For now, though, the goal is to simply put the voice assistant into Ford vehicles via "Power Ups," as Ford calls its over-the-air software updates.
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  • They'll first land in the new Bronco, Edge, F-150, Mustang Mach-E and Super Duty this fall. Do note, only vehicles equipped with Sync 4 will be eligible for the OTA update.
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    As we look at capital expenditures in technology vs income we see that many vehicles are implementing apps. On star was thriving at one point and available in many American made cars however due to the sudden fall off, other replacements have come up. Ford has now emerged to put in place amazon Alexa in over 700,000 of their vehicles. this will offer an Alexa skill that coincides with the vehicles smarts features and offer a much easier use of car adjustments and car controls for many ford owners.
rhera004

Amazon's new smart shopping cart lets you check out without a cashier - The Verge - 0 views

    • rhera004
       
      Would this really be more cost effective?
  • “[The Dash Cart] has a ring of cameras, a scale, and computer vision and weight sensors to determine not just the item, but the quantity of the item,
  • When you finish shopping, Amazon says dedicated Dash Cart lanes let you just exit the store without dealing with payments or waiting in a checkout line.
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  • touchscreen and
  • s
  • detect what items you’re placing inside
  • checks you out digitally
  • the Dash Cart
  • Whole Food
  • Amazon Go
  • Instead, this is your standard, everyday grocery store, only it has smart Amazon-made grocery carts for you to use
  • There’s also the privacy question, and whether the Go format’s tracking and surveillance approach is maybe not as palatable as a smart shopping cart a consumer must opt in to use.
  • So the device can handle up to about two bags of items, but it can’t do a full cart quite yet.
delaneyverger

E-Commerce: Convenience Built on a Mountain of Cardboard - The New York Times - 0 views

  • The environmental cost can include the additional cardboard — 35.4 million tons of containerboard were produced in 2014 in the United States, with e-commerce companies among the fastest-growing users — and the emissions from increasingly personalized freight services.
  • Dr. Sperling said that consumers shared as much responsibility for the environmental cost of the deliveries as the companies that provided the speedy services.
  • One recent study explored the environmental effect of Internet shopping in Newark, Del., and found that a rise in e-commerce in recent years by local residents corresponded to more trucks on the road and an increase in greenhouse emissions.
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  • Ardeshi Faghri, a professor of civil engineering at the University of Delaware, said the increase of various emissions — which he estimated at 20 percent from 2001 to 2011 — “could be due to a multitude of reasons, but we think that online shopping and more delivery trucks are really one of the primary reasons.
  • Other scholars say that, at least for now, online shopping appears to be complementing brick-and-mortar shopping, not replacing it.
  • “People who shop online also like to see and feel things,” said Cara Wang, an associate professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute who studies transportation issues and has written a paper about habits of online shoppers. “And they have to return things.”
  • Amazon is aware of the cardboard issue. Since 2009, it has received 33 million comments, ratings and photographs about its packaging as part of its “packaging feedback program.” Amazon said it used that feedback to make sure that cardboard box size was consistent with the size of the product. It also works with manufacturers to send some products without additional cardboard packaging, said Craig Berman, a company spokesman.
  • Don Fullerton, a professor of finance and an expert in economics and the environment at the University of Illinois, said one possible solution would be to make the retailers responsible for taking back the boxes. That would create incentives for them to come up with solutions for less packaging.
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    This article talks about one of the negative impacts of the current state of e-commerce: the detrimental impact on the environment. The article discusses how consumers have a need for their goods to be delivered quickly and conveniently. E-commerce ventures such as Amazon, Google Express, and Postmates provide customers with goods and services at the click of a button that can be delivered in as little as 10 minutes. However, these businesses have a heavy environmental cost, with an increasing use of cardboard being used in shipments and an increase in personalized freight services, which can lead to more greenhouse gas emissions. While some argue that these e-commerce services might lead to less consumers going out and shopping in physical stores, research shows that this is not the case, with consumers still going out and shopping even if they also shop online through these e-commerce businesses. Although much of the cardboard that is being used in these services is recyclable, recycling comes with its own downsides, as the process of taking things to the recycling centers uses a lot of water and energy. Overall, the new wave of e-commerce has spurred questions about its environmental impact.
anonymous

17 Things You Didn't Know About Ecommerce - 0 views

  • 17 Things You Didn't Know About Ecommerce
  • Online shoppers can buy cars, clothes and millions of other things with the click of a button and figurative swipe of a credit card. In fact, U.S. consumers spend $1,200-$1,300 per year online, but that number will increase by 44%, to $1,738, by 2016. In that year, ecommerce sales are expected to hit $327 billion.
  • 1. By connecting a modified domestic television with a phone line, Michael Aldrich invented online shopping in 1979.
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  • 2. Although Amazon launched in 1995, the first yearly profit wasn't until 2003, and as of June 2012, the average order value was $47.31.
  • 4. Netflix wasn't the first online DVD subscription service — Blockbuster announced Blockbuster.com in 2004, but it's unclear whether services such as Netflix and Redbox led to its ultimate bankruptcy.
  • 6. Zappos' referrals from social media per order yield $0.75 from Pinterest, $2.08 from Facebook and $33.66 from Twitter.
  • 7. Approximately 46% of online users count on social media when making a purchase decision
  • 9. In 2010, Groupon turned down Google's $6 billion offer and became an IPO the following year.
  • 11. India is home to the fastest growing ecommerce market, and France is home to the slowest ecommerce growth.
  • From 2011 to 2016, 15% more people will shop online, taking the number to 192 million in the U.S.
  • 17. Analysts say that an explosion in the mobile payments market is just around the corner.
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    Dear friends, i thought that this might be interesting for you to know. Did you know that our favorite Netflix wasn't the first online DVD subscription service? It was a Blockbuster . com :) And the fact that people will mostly shop online? 192 million in the USA! (I' honestly like shopping outside, so this way i can smell, touch, and try; although eBay is doing pretty good job by selling cheap Chinese stuff and having a free shipping. You can not even return the package , because it's 3 times more expensive to return than the original cost! ) What do you think? Thanks
anonymous

App by app, AI gradually making its way into travel: Travel Weekly - 0 views

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    I found this article on artificial intelligence (AI) - unfortunately the article did not mention how much companies are investing into AI, but that more and more are integrating it into their software/apps. It's stated that they are investing into AI technology to interact with clients, and to help streamline operations. To give a few examples, in the last couple of months, Mezi for Business announced that they would launch Mezi, an AI virtual travel assistant. Kayak also announced that one is now able to book hotel rooms through the Amazon Echo device with the help of Alexa, Amazon Echos' virtual personal assistant which previously only offered search functions. An interesting number that the article does mention in my opinion, was that if a travel agent was doing 1,000 bookings a month, the travel agent would now be able to do 5,000 a month.
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