Welcome to RepricerExpress’ weekly round-up of the top five stories from the world of Amazon and ecommerce.
Amazon is being investigated by the German antitrust authority: David Reid at CNBC reports that German authorities have launched a probe into Amazon’s treatment of sellers on the website Amazon.de. The cartel office in Germany said it had received “many complaints” over Amazon’s conduct. The European Union is already investigating Amazon’s use of data gathered from online sellers. Continue reading…
Amazon’s self-driving AI robo-car – THE TRUTH (it’s a few inches in size): The Register reports that at its re:Invent gathering in Las Vegas, AWS teased a machine-learning inference chip called Inferentia and a small radio-controlled car called DeepRacer for executing autonomous driving models in the real-world and terrifying pets. First, the car. It’s a 1/18th scale race car that’s ostensibly intended to help people understand and implement reinforcement learning. It may also help with customer acquisition, retention and spending. Continue reading…
New York labour leaders: Amazon has ‘record of routinely mistreating workers’: Erin Durkin at The Guardian reports that as Amazon looks to come to town, New York labour leaders tore into the company’s record on worker treatment in a new report issued on Wednesday. The Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) and city lawmakers said Amazon’s record of gruelling conditions for warehouse workers and opposition to union organising should make the tech giant unwelcome in the city. Continue reading…
Here’s one market Amazon can’t easily crack – car parts: Nathaniel Meyersohn at CNN reports that Amazon is gunning to sell more car parts. But it will run up against fierce resistance from a small army of firmly established companies already doing just that. One of them is Advance Auto Parts. Advance has designed a vast logistics network to deliver parts to auto mechanics and do-it-yourself car owners right away. Charlie O’Shea, lead retail analyst at Moody’s said, “Independent garages have got to get that car fixed as fast as possible, or you’re not going to them again. They measure delivery times in hours and minutes, not days.” Continue reading…
An Amazon revolt could be brewing as the tech giant exerts more control over brands: Jason Del Rey at Recode reports that the next time you buy a PopSockets cellphone grip from Amazon, be forewarned: It likely won’t come with a manufacturer’s warranty — because it won’t be coming from PopSockets or one of its authorised sellers. That’s one of the trickle-down effects of a power move that Amazon recently made against PopSockets and other brands that sell their goods through the largest online store in the U.S. Amazon is taking more control over where and how product manufacturers can hawk their wares on Amazon. Continue reading…
Quote of the week:
“You can’t have a million-dollar dream with a minimum wage work ethic.”
Stephen Hogan
Have a great weekend!
