Trump v. Amazon, Take IXV
Prime Cut: President Trump took aim (again) at Amazon, describing the U.S. Postal Service as its delivery boy (again).
The Amazon Washington Post has gone crazy against me ever since they lost the Internet Tax Case in the U.S. Supreme Court two months ago. Next up is the U.S. Post Office which they use, at a fraction of real cost, as their “delivery boy” for a BIG percentage of their packages….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 23, 2018
….In my opinion the Washington Post is nothing more than an expensive (the paper loses a fortune) lobbyist for Amazon. Is it used as protection against antitrust claims which many feel should be brought?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 23, 2018
TWICE Take: While widely accepted at this point that Trump’s real beef is with the Jeff Bezos-owned Washington Post, Amazon critics are pointing out that coverage of the tweetstorm distracts from the real conversation of Amazon’s unfair power advantage.
See the full stories on Business Insider and Bloomberg.
Dolby Atmos Coming To Prime Video
Prime Cut: Amazon Prime Video will begin supporting Dolby Atmos audio with the release of the 10-episode “Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan” series this summer.
TWICE Take: Atmos has been available on Netflix since last year (and is also currently supported on Vudu). The second “Jack Ryan” series has already been greenlit by Amazon.
See the full story on TechRadar.
Amazon Adds EQ To Echo
Prime Cut: Amazon is adding an equalizer (EQ) feature for its Echo smart speaker. When it rolls out, users will be able to adjust the bass, midrange and treble manually or via voice control.
TWICE Take: Now that third-party Alexa-enabled smart speakers are a-plenty — very often with price tags lower than the Echo — Amazon is acknowledging it’s time to pay more mind to sound quality. According to a recent study, nearly half of smart-speaker owners use the devices to listen to music.
See the full story on The Verge.
Amazon’s Double Rainbow
Prime Cut: Avis announced it will reward Amazon account holders with Amazon gift cards when they make a car rental reservation. Avis will also offer even heftier gift cards to those who book rentals via the Alexa skill.
TWICE Take: Shopping by voice is projected to reach $40 billion in sales by 2022, with Amazon expected to have a stranglehold on the market. The e-tailer couldn’t ask for a better kickstart to its v-commerce strategy than discounts via gift cards.
See the full story on CNBC.
Target Taps Brick-And-Mortar For Prime Day Success
Prime Cut: Amazon released a curated list of sales details about Prime Day 2018, and it was, as expected, a record-breaking year for the company. Among the highlights included its biggest sales day for smart-home devices in the e-tailer’s history.
TWICE Take: While an InfoScout survey revealed that most consumers stuck to Amazon for their Prime Day shopping, Target announced that July 17 was its highest single day of website traffic and online sales for the year. The most interesting thing about that detail? Nearly 90 percent of that day’s orders will be fulfilled directly from Target stores by its sales associates, the retailer revealed.
See the full story on TWICE.
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