Jason Abbruzzese says, “Amazon finished 2014 much stronger than some expected. The company’s Prime service grew its membership by 53% worldwide off a base of “tens of millions” in 2014. The ecommerce retailer also announced solid earnings for the end of 2014 in its fourth-quarter earnings release on Thursday, logging $0.45 per share of profit, easily beating expectations of $0.17. Its total revenue of $29.3 billion just missed analyst estimates. Shares moved sharply higher in after-hours trading, adding around 12.9% after the company’s earnings call. “When we raised... [...]

Adario Strange says, “From setting up one of the world’s largest ecommerce stores to entering the world of film and television, Amazon now plans to dive into the world of corporate email. The company will launch a product called WorkMail, a $4-per-month, per-user secure-email solution for business users, according to The Wall Street Journal. Although Amazon’s decision to take on the likes of Google (with corporate email at $5 per user, per month) and Microsoft (also $5 per user, per month for Office 365 business email) may come as a surprise to some, it actually makes perfect sense. Many... [...]

Ayaz Nanji says, “Some 35% of consumers, on average, click the first product listed on an Amazon shopping search results page, according to a recent report from Compete. The report was based on data from 75 million consumers who conducted at least one search on Amazon in September 2014. The analysis found that, on average, 35% of consumers click on the first product, regardless of whether the search is their first one on the site or a subsequent search. The second result on a page receives 17% of clicks, on average, and the third garners 12%. The tenth product listed—which still typically... [...]

Adriana Lee says, “Amazon’s already sooo over Black Friday. The online retail giant pushes forward with new offers starting Saturday, ahead of Cyber Monday, with new deals launching every 10 minutes. For the first time, it’s also sending mobile-exclusive lightning deals through its app, so users can snag a sweet discount on the go. Amazon says thousands of deals will be ready per day. Among the ranks, we spotted a few gadgets, appliances, media and other tech temptations getting ready for release across multiple categories”. Amazon Gears Up For Cyber Monday ReadWrite  [...]

Arie Shipanya says, “Alibaba’s recent IPO is impressive. How will its expansion into the American market affect Amazon? Like the river it’s named after, Amazon is one of the largest of its kind. In North America, Amazon sells more online than its next 12 competitors combined. It has become one of the most recognizable brands in the world, and is a leader in the online shopping industry. However, it has recently met its match, and its name is Alibaba”. A rumble in the jungle: Amazon vs Alibaba ‘Econsultancy’ Blog  [...]

Jillian Kumagai says, “If your shopping fantasy is a week-long Black Friday sale, then you’re in luck: This year, Amazon is counting down to Black Friday with limited-time deals all the way up until the big day. While Amazon’s sales, like all major Black Friday sales, are heavy on tech gadgets, the mega online retailer’s variety is also represented this year from men’s shoes to cookware. The main thing you need to know is that they’re broken down into Daily Deals (available through Dec. 22) and 15,000 lightning sales that will be available until the Black Friday... [...]

Matt Asay says, “Last year, VMware president Carl Eschenbach told a group of business partners, “I find it really hard to believe that we cannot collectively beat a company that sells books.” He was, of course, referring to Amazon. And as it turns out, they can’t. Indeed, that bookseller seems hell-bent on destroying the business of every other 20th century software company. So far, it looks like Amazon will succeed. So much so, in fact, that at AWS re:Invent this week, Amazon Web Services (AWS) chief Andy Jassy declared that AWS could become Amazon’s “biggest... [...]

Andras Cser says, “As we predicted in May 2012, user directories are moving into the cloud. Cloud workloads require that users who are authorized to access them are stored near the cloud workload and not just on-premise. While this offering announced now by AWS is not necessary technically groundbreaking (Cloud IAM vendors and Microsoft Azure have been offering AD integration for a relatively long time). Obviously this announcement is relevant because of AWS’s broad presence in IaaS. We urge Forrester’s clients that plan to use AWS AD service to ask AWS the following questions: 1.... [...]

Seth Fiegerman says, “”Many people think our main competition is Bing or Yahoo,” Eric Schmidt, Google’s executive chairman, said this week in Berlin. “But, really, our biggest search competitor is Amazon.” Schmidt likely intended to persuade a skeptical European audience that Google is not all powerful and faces more competition than some might assume. Even so, he offered the clearest comments yet on how Google views Amazon as a top competitor. “People don’t think of Amazon as search, but if you are looking for something to buy, you are more often than... [...]

Todd Wasserman says, “Amazon will open its first physical store right across from the Empire State Building in New York City, according to a report. The space, at 7 West 34th St., will offer limited inventory for same-day delivery in the city, according to The Wall Street Journal. The location would also handle product returns and exchanges plus pickups of online orders. “A customer could, for example, order a pan in the morning and pick it up that evening in time to use for dinner,” according to the report. The original version of the report characterized the location as a store.... [...]