Amazon at 20: what has the online giant ever done for retail?

The e-commerce site is 20 years old this week. So what influence has it really had on the retail and internet industries?It was originally billed as “Earth’s Biggest Bookstore” and featured over one million titles. Twenty years later it boasts over 270m active accounts and claims to have more than 2m third-party vendors selling millions of products through the marketplace platform. In that time it has been both lauded and vilified, most recently over corporation tax and staff working conditions but Amazon is quite clearly one of the biggest success stories of online commerce. So what has been its lasting impact? Can it maintain this growth or have we seen the best of it?Amazon was born in July 1994, with the online site launching as Amazon.com a year later. In 1995, Bill Gates, founder and CEO at Microsoft, reportedly paid The Rolling Stones $3m (£1.9m) for the rights to use Start Me Up to launch Windows 95. It was also the year eBay launched as AuctionWeb (a bit later in September) and there were, according to IDC, 16m global internet users compared with over three billion today. Related: Has Net-a-Porter found the holy grail of 21st-century fashion? Related: To avoid Blockbuster's fate, your business needs a chief futures officer Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2015-07-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #corporation tax #lasting impact #bill gates #reportedly paid #holy grail

Other Publishing stories related to: 'Amazon at 20: what has the online giant ever done for retail?'


Digital Drives Amazon Second Quarter Sales

Total revenue at Amazon rose 22% in the second quarter ended June 30, to $15.70 billion, while operating income fell 26%, to $79 million. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-07-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #quarter sales #total revenue #$79 million


Xbox One retail consoles double as debug units, Microsoft to allow indie self-publishing (update)

Microsoft's Xbox One is getting decidedly more indie-friendly with today's confirmation from Microsoft that its forthcoming game console will double as a developer debug unit. In so many words, each $500 unit purchased at retail this holiday will also run in-progress game code, enabling... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2013-07-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #full statement #late august


Amazon Kicks Off 'Kindle Singles Interview' Series

Expanding the range of its Kindle Singles offerings, Amazon has kicked off an interview series on the e-reader. The first installment of "The Kindle Singles Interview" series features Israeli President Shimon Peres, who was interviewed by Tablet magazine's literary editor, David Samuels. Amazon... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2013-07-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #established authors


Native Offerings Approaching 90% of Online Publishers

Nine out of 10 publishers will be offering at least some form of native advertising formats by the end of this year, according to hot-off-the-presses research being presented by Online Publishers Association chief Pam Horan at OMMA Premium Display in ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2013-07-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #online publishers


AJR Shuts Down Print Edition, Goes Online Only

As newsrooms continue to shrink, journalism and media students are facing a harsh reality upon graduation. Media companies are changing business models and expectations rapidly. Those changes are starting to trickle down to colleges. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2013-07-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #media companies


How Amazon Became the King of Audiobooks

Recorded books are now a billion-dollar business, which Amazon dominates perhaps like none other.     Continue reading at The Atlantic

[ The Atlantic | 2013-07-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #recorded books


Amazon creates a new comic books imprint

The imprint, titled Jet City Comics, released its first title, a work named 'Symposium #1," on July 9. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-07-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #amazon creates


George R R Martin in Amazon imprint launch

Amazon Publishing has revealed a new imprint dedicated to comics and graphic novels, called Jet... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-07-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #amazon publishing #imprint dedicated #graphic novels


Amazon announces new comics imprint, just in time for Comic-Con

Tuesday morning Amazon Publishing announced a new comics and graphic novel imprint, Jet City Comics. It will publish graphic novels by George R.R. Martin, of "Game of Thrones" fame and others.It was only yesterday that I asked my editor when Comic-Con begins, because the comics-related... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2013-07-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #comics imprint #amazon announces


Penguin Random House aims to bookend Amazon's rule

Almost overnight, the New York book publishing landscape got a lot smaller—or bigger, if you happen to work for Random House or Penguin, which last week became the publishing industry behemoth Penguin Random House. With more than 10,000 employees, the new global publisher will control 25% of the... Continue reading at Crains New York

[ Crains New York | 2013-07-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #foreseeable future #stay put #published books


Comics worth £20,000 used on artwork

An artist finds out the comic books he used to make a papier-mache sculpture could have been worth £20,000. Continue reading at BBC News

[ BBC News | 2013-07-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #comic books


Amazon Patents 'DVD Extras' for E-Books

As far as media delivery goes, ebooks are pretty flat. You get the book and maybe some notes or background info from the publisher, and that's pretty much it. That's not good enough for Amazon. The company was just awarded a patent, which it originally applied for on November 24, 2010,... Continue reading at Wired

[ Wired | 2013-07-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon Kindle tops yearly Japan e-reader sales five months after launch

Amazon.com's Kindle e-reader has dominated the competition in Japan since its launch last year, according to new research, showing the company's low pricing and powerful brand may have overcome its late entrance into the market. The Kindle accounted for 38.3 percent of the e-reader market in... Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2013-07-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #officially launched #kindle e-reader #low pricing #powerful brand #official start


Young book-buyers 'put off Amazon'

Young people have been put off buying from Amazon after recent revelation's about the company... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-06-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon opens up Kindle Worlds Store, for all your licensed fan fic needs

Come on now, why are you wasting your time here, when you could be reading some Gossip Girl fan fic? Roughly a month after announcing its licensed character publishing platform, Amazon has taken the wraps off of Kindle Worlds. The site currently offers up 50-plus commissioned stories based on... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2013-06-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #amazon opens #source link #kindle worlds #vampire diaries #gossip girl #fan fiction


Fair Play? French Want to End Amazon’s Free Book Delivery

The French government announced a plan to introduce a law to stop Amazon from offering discounts and free delivery for books, citing it as "unfair" competitive practice. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-06-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #fair play #offering discounts #free delivery


Prague Fair Report: Solidarity with Slovakia, VAT Hike, Amazon is Coming

With Slovakia as guest of honor, Book World Prague offered a gauge of the local book biz, where the recent hike of VAT to 15% has stifled book sales and Amazon is expected to open soon. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-06-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #vat hike


Kindle Worlds: Bringing Fanfiction Into Line But Not Online?

Limiting Kindle Worlds to the ebook form may cater the needs of licensors, but it is counter to the ethos, habits and desires of fanfiction writers and readers. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-06-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #kindle worlds #ebook form


Anger over authors’ website links to Amazon

Several publishers and authors have told The Bookseller that they are in the process of changing... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-06-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon Publishing Has First Million Copy Bestseller: What Next?

Amazon Publishing announces that the Hangman's Daughter series is their first million seller. Is it a cause for concern? Celebration? Or merely surprise that it took this long? Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-06-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #amazon publishing