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Amazon news

06 August 2020
Amazon has received approval by the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) for a 16% investment in Deliveroo. US$575m funding round In May 2019, Amazon became the biggest investor in a US$575m investment round in Deliveroo, with the exact amount Amazon spent unknown. Deliveroo said the new investment would contribute to expanding its London based engineering team, reaching new custome...
06 August 2020
Amazon has announced plans to launch in Sweden, the Nordic region’s largest grocery market. Here we consider which FMCG categories it usually prioritises and report on the online performance of leading Swedish grocery retailers. First launch in a Nordic country Launching in Sweden will see Amazon’s entry into the Nordics. Customers in Sweden can already shop on Amazon through other European...
04 August 2020
Amazon has reportedly agreed to a deal to open more than 10 of its checkout-free Go stores, and is in holding talks for 20 more stores, according to reports from The Sunday Times. Just walk out technology Amazon Go launched in the US in January 2018, marking the first checkout-free, 'just walk out' store concept to be developed by a major retailer. The Amazon Go concept has since been rolle...
31 July 2020
Amazon beat expectations with sales of $88.9bn in Q2, an increase of 40% year-on-year (YoY), with its North America business up 43%, and the international business up 38%. Online grocery sales trebled Amazon had expected sales of between $75bn and $81bn for the quarter. Its first-party online sales were up 49% YoY, and its third-party sales were up 53%. Its advertising business remained str...
29 July 2020
Amazon has announced the expansion of its robot delivery trial to Atlanta, Georgia and Franklin, Tennessee. Monday through Friday, during daylight hours Amazon began testing its delivery robots, called ‘Scout’, in Snohomish County, Washington, in early 2019 before  expanding to the Irvine area in Southern California , in August of last year. The fully electric, six-wheeled delivery robot...
28 July 2020
Amazon is now offering free grocery deliveries for Prime members. Paying for convenience Delivery fees are a key barrier to using online, and previously, Amazon Fresh charged a monthly add-on fee of £3.99, or £2.99 per delivery, (in addition to £79 for an annual Amazon Prime membership).  Now, shoppers using Amazon Fresh, spending over £40, and agreeing to receive their groceries within a...
17 July 2020
Amazon has announced it is opening health care centres located near its fulfilment centres across the US for employees. Local, convenience health centres Amazon is launching health centres near its fulfilment centres and operations facilities as a new health care benefit for employees. The new Neighbourhood Health Centres will be launched in partnership with Crossover Health, a national pro...
15 July 2020
Amazon is launching a smart shopping cart, Amazon Dash Cart, in its grocery store in Woodland Hills, CA later this year. Amazon Dash Cart The grocery cart is designed to make the shopper experience quicker in store, allowing customers to skip the checkout queue. It uses a combination of computer vision algorithms and sensor fusion to identify items shoppers put in the cart. There will be...
01 July 2020
Amazon announced it has signed an agreement to acquire California-based autonomous driving startup, Zoox. Autonomous driving technology Zoox launched in 2014 with the aim of developing zero-emissions vehicles designed for autonomous ride-hailing. Amazon has agreed to acquire the startup in a deal reported to be worth more than $1bn. Zoox will continue to be led by its CEO, Aicha Evans, and ...
30 June 2020
Amazon has announced it is rolling out a new service, called Smart Stores, enabling customers to discover products at local stores in India, make payments, and earn rewards using Amazon Pay. Smart Stores With the launch of Smart Stores, customers in India can scan a QR code at participating stores using the Amazon app. These QR codes enable shoppers to access a digital storefront to learn m...