Retailers/Amazon/News

Amazon news

17 May 2023
Coinciding with the launch of four new Alexa-enabled devices, Amazon announced that there has been well over half a billion Alexa-enabled devices sold around the world, and customers are using Alexa more than ever. Engagement with Alexa increased more than 35% in 2022. Putting Amazon in your vehicle Amazon also announced that Echo Auto, which brings the convenience of Alexa to your vehicle,...
28 April 2023
We review Amazon’s first quarter results and the outlook for the year ahead as it continues to simplify the business. Q1 key numbers Total net sales increased 9.4% to $127,358m Net product sales increased 0.9% to $56,981m Net service sales increased 17.3% to $70,377m Online sales were flat to last year at $51,096m Sales through physical stores increased by 6.6% to $4,895m ...
21 April 2023
In February 2023, Andy Jassy (Amazon President and CEO) quashed rumours that Amazon’s grocery business had been put on long-term hold. In Amazon’s 2022 letter to shareholders, published last week (April 13), Jassy commented that Amazon is looking for the “right mass grocery format for Amazon to scale”. Here we explore that further, along with other key headlines from the update. Grocery:...
14 April 2023
Business catering company BaxterStorey has become the first hospitality business in the UK to use Just Walk Out technology. The new micro market which opened last month (March 2023) marks the first use of Amazon’s Just Walk Out technology within the workplace in the UK. The micro market, called Social Bee, is operated by BaxterStorey in Amazon’s London headquarters, and includes food-to-go, fo...
05 March 2023
Amazon is to close eight of its Amazon Go stores, with locations in Seattle, San Francisco and New York shuttering. This will leave chain with 21 stores. We look at why these closures are being undertaken and if it’s a signal of any larger changes underway within the retailer’s physical stores business. Amazon threw down the autonomous store challenge Amazon Go launched in Seattle in 201...
15 February 2023
In an interview with the Financial Times, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy has extinguished rumours that Amazon’s grocery store business has been put on hold long-term. Contrarily, the tech giant hopes to “go big” on bricks-and-mortar stores later this year. The pandemic led to setbacks Many of Amazon’s grocery stores opened during the pandemic and a “lack of normalcy” during these times caused severa...
06 February 2023
It’s almost five years since the first Amazon Go store opened in Seattle in 2018. We recently visited the first store to launch in San Francisco later that year to see how the format has evolved. Chain has grown to 28 stores The Amazon Go chain stands at 28 stores, spread across Seattle, San Francisco, Chicago, New York and Los Angeles. In the latter it has focused on a suburban version of ...
03 February 2023
We review Amazon’s fourth quarter and full year results and pick out six things shaping its medium-term strategy. Q4 and full year key numbers Q4 total revenue up 9% to $149.2 bn, with full year up 9% to $514 bn North America segment increased 13% to $93.4 bn in Q4 and 13% to $315.9 bn for 2022 International segment decreased 8% to $34.5 billion in Q4 and a -8% (to $118 bn) for...
27 January 2023
On 24 January, Amazon opened an new format Amazon Fresh store in Croydon and on 26th January, it opened another new format Amazon Fresh store in Monument, London. During the same week, Amazon permanently closed its Amazon Fresh store in Dalston, London after 18 months of operating. The new format Amazon has introduced a hybrid checkout experience at the two new stores in London. Unlike t...
06 January 2023
The cost-of-living crisis has affected shoppers from all walks of life, with many trading down and making more cost-conscious decisions as 2022 has progressed and budgets got tighter. Amazon Fresh has seen double digit growth year on year across tinned meats, fruits and vegetables as shoppers’ budgets are stretched by the cost-of-living crisis. Tinned ready meal usage also rose as shoppers r...