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

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London Book Fair 2018: Why Amazon’s 'Digital Roots' Will Reshape Physical Retail

On a Christmas Eve shopping visit to the bustling Amazon Books in New York, journalist Cherie Hu realized that Amazon had flipped the table on the analog environment of traditional bookselling. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-04-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon's rolling out stores after pulling shoppers online (Photos)

After spending two decades pulling bookstore shoppers to its business online, Amazon.com Inc. is trying to lure some of them back to brick-and-mortar stores across the country. Amazon Books has quickly expanded its footprint since opening its first bookstore in Seattle two years ago. Amazon now... Continue reading at Silicon Valley Business Journal

[ Silicon Valley Business Journal | 2017-11-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Scholars Highlight Hobby Lobby Owners' Path From Retail Giant to Bible Curators

In their new book, Biblical scholars Candida Moss and Joel Baden examine the Green family’s collection of antiquities planned for their $500 million Museum of the Bible, and question how the Hobby Lobby owners might be able to control the conversation about the Bible through it. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-09-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Self-published archaeological thriller takes £20,000 Amazon award

The Relic Hunters by David Leadbeater is inaugural winner of online retailer’s DIY publishing prizeThe writer David Leadbeater has struck gold with his self-published archaeological thriller, The Relic Hunters, scooping up the first Amazon Kindle Storyteller award.Leadbeater pronounced it “a... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2017-07-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon's physical retail presence grows in Seattle, New York

As Amazon runs out of ways to expand its mountain-sized market share in the online retail space, its attempts to grow its presence in the real world are continuing to materialize, with new plans being firmed up on both coasts of the United States. Today, it officially launched AmazonFresh... Continue reading at Betanews

[ Betanews | 2017-05-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon: EC considers new law to tackle unfair online trading practices

The European Commission is considering a new law to deal with unfair trading practices after deciding further action is necessary to promote fairness and responsibility of online platforms such as Amazon. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-05-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Revenue From Retail Products Up, in Q1, at Amazon

Sales of retail products at Amazon rose 15% in the first quarter of 2017 over the comparable period last year. Among the many items sold in the sector are print and digital books. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-04-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon to open retail presence in Australia

Amazon has revealed it will launch a retail arm in Australia after years of speculation. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-04-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Get a $20 Discount If You Buy 3 Echo Dots on Amazon, For A Limited Time - Deal Alert

Echo Dot is a hands-free, voice-controlled device that uses Alexa to play music, control smart home devices, provide information, read the news, set alarms, read audiobooks from Audible, and more. In fact, new Alexa "skills" are being created all the time. Tell Alexa to start your usual order at... Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2017-04-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon Prime now offers 20 percent off all new video game releases, with a catch

Amazon’s been steadily expanding the list of benefits you receive with a $99 Prime membership—two-day shipping, a library of music and movies to stream, the ability to “borrow” Kindle books—and today it added video games to the list. Sort of. Prime members now get 20 percent off video game... Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2016-01-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon a better retailer than publisher, says Redmayne

Amazon is not as good at publishing as it is at retailing, Charlie Redmayne, c.e.o of HarperCollins has said. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-10-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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IndieCommerce Lags Other Online Retailers by 'A Decade,' Says NAIBA

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-08-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon, Wal-Mart face off in online discounting

A 32-inch LED television for $75. Harry Potter books for up to half off their list price. An Apple iPad mini for $265. Continue reading at Baltimore Sun

[ Baltimore Sun | 2015-07-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon Mexico Now Sells Print Books Online

Amazon Mexico has finally launched its full retail operations and a print bookstore; it had previously offered Kindle ebooks since 2013. The post Amazon Mexico Now Sells Print Books Online appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-07-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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E-books Gained, Online Retailers Slipped in 2014

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-03-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon opens online store on Chinese competitor's marketplace

Amazon has opened a flagship store on Chinese competitor Alibaba Group Holding’s consumer-to-consumer site, Tmall.com. Amazon’s store on the site launched this week and so far offers a limited range of products including imported food, women’s shoes, toys and kitchen equipment, the Wall Street... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-03-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon, the greedy giant with small publishers in its grip

To sell online, indie publishers must use Amazon. But its methods leave them out of pocket – or out of sight, paying hidden charges, says the founder of Linen Press Indie publishers need transparency and support from online companies that sell their books. Amazon fails such publishers on both... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2015-02-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Global Ebook Retailers Race to Beat Amazon into Latin America

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[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-01-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon's battle with Hachette is a fight for readers, writers and retailers | Hugh Howey

As things stand, Hachette is making ebook discounts impossible, and almost everybody else stands to lose, writes Hugh HoweyNews: New Amazon terms amount to 'assisted suicide' for book industry, experts claimHow much should an ebook cost? And how should that money be split? These two questions... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-07-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publishers may hate Amazon, but the retailer may be helping us read more books

Amazon.com's negotiations with publisher Hachette Books Group have sparked a wave of anger toward the e-commerce giant from authors and readers alike. Several authors and analysts have spoken out, saying Amazon is a threat to traditional publishers. Perhaps. But whatever is going on in the... Continue reading at Silicon Valley Business Journal

[ Silicon Valley Business Journal | 2014-06-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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