Greg Finn says, “One of Amazon’s most appealing features is the unbiased reviews provided to members. Unfortunately, it turns out that some sellers have taken it upon themselves to feed fake reviews to their customers-to-be. This wouldn’t be a prudent idea. Amazon is (and has been) suing those sellers that are buying positive reviews. Amazon has previously sued to stop websites that sell fake Amazon reviews, along with individuals offering to write fake reviews. This latest batch of lawsuits is against the companies that buy fake reviews for their products. A story from TechCrunch this... [...]

Amy Gesenhues says, “Amazon announced yesterday that it has reached $100 billion in annual sales. According to a report from The Seattle Times, CEO Jeff Bezos told the audience at Amazon’s annual shareholder meeting, “We are the fastest company to ever reach that milestone.” Amazon Web Services (AWS) — the e-commerce company’s cloud computing division — is also set to reach a major milestone this year, on its way to $10 billion in sales. Amazon says AWS is now bigger than Amazon.com was 10 years ago and is growing at a faster rate. After facing harsh criticism over the treatment... [...]

Barry Levine says, “Amazon is now making its video service more like its general marketplace. On Tuesday, the e-commerce giant announced a new service, called Amazon Video Direct (AVD). While it allows any video creator to upload work and receive payment in several ways, it’s clearly directed at video professionals — which it describes as “creators and storytellers” — and not at your brother’s collection of adorable video clips of your new niece. In other words, professional video makers can now choose to sell their works on Amazon without waiting to be selected by their programming... [...]

Devendra Hardawar says, “Amazon has spent the past few years emulating Netflix with its many streaming video offerings. Now with Amazon Video Direct (AVD), it’s taking a cue from Vimeo and YouTube by making it easier than ever to get your videos streaming, and most importantly, get you paid. You’ll be able to upload your own videos and choose exactly how you want people to access them with AVD. You could, for example, make them available to all Amazon Prime viewers, or just go the typical video on demand rental and purchase route. Alternatively, you can also make it open to all... [...]

Reuters team says, “Amazon.com Inc.’s business marketplace, which connects businesses with suppliers, has generated $1 billion in sales in its first year, making it a significant player in a fragmented industry worth more than $8.2 trillion in the United States. Amazon Business offers U.S. businesses exclusive pricing and discounts for buying in bulk, free two-day shipping for orders of more than $49, tax exemption and the option to get products delivered with an Amazon guarantee. “We are continuing to grow at a rate of 20 percent month-on-month, and that highlights … how... [...]

Greg Finn says, “Avid Amazon shoppers may notice some patterns when performing product searches on the retail behemoth. Better-selling products tend to show up at a more frequent clip. A new study from Ripen eCommerce looked at more than 344,936 unique products and 746,500 search results to find what high-ranking products have in common. Amazon Best Sellers Rank Of all of the items measured, the top correlation with high rankings was unequivocally a product’s Amazon Best Sellers Rank. This metric is assigned to a product across specific sub-categories and categories (if popular) and correlates... [...]

Arie Shpanya says, “Amazon has become synonymous with great deals. Retailers using the marketplace have spoken out about drastic undercutting from Amazon as a retailer, especially because they reprice with such high frequency (changing the price of the bible 100 times in five years). But what’s Amazon’s actual strategy when it comes to pricing? Judging by the news that has surfaced over the years, one would speculate that Amazon’s strategy is to frequently lower prices until they beat competitors–for all products. As a consumer, you probably go to Amazon because you think... [...]

Eric Siu says, “Ten years ago, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos launched Amazon Prime, a special service for Amazon customers that offered unlimited two-day shipping for an annual fee. Amazon Prime is now more successful than even the most optimistic Amazon executive ever could have predicted. This case study should be an inspiration to every digital marketer. Related: Your Amazon Prime Subscription May Get More Expensive The fabulous success of Amazon Prime According to consumer intelligence research partners, Amazon Prime has become extremely popular in recent years. Demand has grown by 35 percent... [...]

Thomas Smale says, “Many online entrepreneurs are sharing news of their successes with the Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) business model — where client companies store their products at Amazon’s fulfillment centers, and Amazon picks, packs, ships and provides customer service for those products. Related: Fulfillment by Amazon Poses a Great Option for Those Looking to Break Into Ecommerce The entrepreneur success stories circulating out there are one of the many reasons FBA continues to grow in popularity. But, there still isn’t much information available about how to grow... [...]

Allison Enright says, “The e-retailer says 47% of units sold in Q4 were by sellers on its marketplace, and that Prime membership grew 47% in the United States in 2015. Amazon.com Inc. today reaffirmed its leading position as the top e-retailer in North America, reporting 2015 full-year revenue of $107.01 billion, up 20.2% from $88.99 billion in 2014. Excluding revenue from service sales, such as computing power and commissions paid by Amazon marketplace sellers—revenue streams that are growing rapidly—product sales totaled $79.27 billion, up 13% from $70.08 billion in 2014. Amazon’s... [...]