Amazon Prime Lures Customers with New Marketing Strategy

Amazon, one of the leading online retail shops, rolled out a new strategy to boost more sales in their physical stores.

Currently, customers who subscribed to the $99 annual Prime Program will enjoy free shipping, free cloud storage, a variety of other Amazon services and now they are expanding it to ‘offline’ benefit too.

For the past months, cashier staff’s in Amazon physical stores are now asking customers if they are an Amazon Prime Member because members can now purchase books at the same discounted price listed on the website. However, non-members will pay the sticker price.

Amazon store did not attach price tags to their books so customers have to scan the book in the kiosk to see the price. After scanning the book, the kiosk will then show two prices, one for Prime Member and one for non-members.

This new Amazon Program is similar to Barnes & Noble’s $25-a-year membership plan, wherein members get free shipping for online orders and discounts of 10 to 40% off purchases in stores.

Amazon strategic plan

Amazon stores are a great tool for them to test what online strategies and tactics they can try and implement to hike up sales in physical stores. It is also a way to attract more Prime members due to the price differential. Amazon recently brought its online marketing strategy to local stores; they started posting book’s online reviews and star ratings and showcasing products such as the Kindle e-reader.

In a statement released by The Wall Street Journal, CEO Jeff Bezos has said “his company will open more stores in an effort to learn more about how to succeed at offline retailing. Amazon has opened modest-sized bookstores in Seattle, San Diego and Portland with plans to open soon in Chicago and a Boston suburb. The company is also planning to open a chain of small grocery stores.”

Meanwhile, Amazon hasn’t discussed much their ‘fashion products’.

According to Andy Jassy, Amazon Web Services Head said, “So far, we’re really pleased with the early results,”

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Alexa Voice Assistant To Be Available On Amazon’s Fire Tablets

On Wednesday, the Alexa voice assistant will begin rolling out to customers and designed to match what users get on other Alexa devices, such as the Echo speaker. By using voice commands, users listen to music from services such as Pandora or Amazon Music, or they can have the news read out to them.

The Fire tablets will have an apparent advantage over Echo by offering full-screen cards with additional details. For instance, when you inquire about the weather, just as she does on Echo, Alexa will speak out the current temperature and offer the day’s forecast. However, the visual card will also show the week’s forecast. The card also offers playback control such as skipping and pausing for news and music.

For those with both Fire and Echo, as long a user enables a Voicecast feature through the Alexa app, making a request on Echo will activate the Fire’s screen and present the detailed cards.

Amazon says Alexa will vary from Google’s Assistant and Apple’s Siri. It was designed for tablets first, instead of phones. That means aiming at activities usually done at home, such as recipes, entertainment, and timers. For tasks on the go, such as locating nearby establishments, the voice assistant carries out a standard web search or directs you to the Alexa app. Google and Apple have special interfaces with price ranges, restaurant ratings and more. Further, both combine that data into their chat apps, too.

Strength through affordability

Amazon.com Inc. has managed to stay strong despite the downturn in the overall tablet market by slashing prices and persuading people to buy more than one. The value of its base model is just $49. The company introduced last month a new 8-inch tablet for $90, down from $150 for comparable models in the past.

So far, Amazon is dodging business-oriented tablets such as Microsoft’s Surface and Apple’s iPad Pro. Senior product manager for Fire tablets Aaron Bromberg said that while such devices work well as laptop alternatives, “we also see an awful lot of people that want tablets to use around the house for entertainment.”

 

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Amazon Strengthens Paris Express Delivery Service With New Alliances

To expand the product range of its Prime Now express delivery service in Paris and its suburbs, Amazon is partnering with wine retailer Lavinia, luxury food group Fauchon, and organic food chain Bio c’Bon, the online retailer said on Wednesday.

The deal will put in 5,000 more food products to Amazon Prime Now’s selection of 18,000 products in Paris. Further, the deal comes as Carrefour aims to compete with Amazon Prime Now. The French retailer started testing this month its own express delivery service named Livraison in a number of Paris stores.

In recent years, Amazon has been intensifying its activity in France as speed delivery has turned into a new arena among retailers hoping to improve sales.

Amazon Prime Now was introduced in Paris in June 2016. Members get the benefit of faster delivery by paying a yearly subscription of 49 euros. Members then get a choice of paying 5.90 euros if they want their products delivered within one hour. They can get it for free within two hours if they order at least 20 euros worth of products.

Amazon said in a statement that the deals with Lavinia and Bio c’Bon are effective immediately. Fauchon, on the other hand, will join Prime Now in November.

This collaboration will bring a wider range of products, including fresh deli products, meat, wine, spirits, vegetables and fresh fruits to customers.

Extremely popular in Paris

Amazon.fr General Manager Frederic Duval said that the four-month-old Amazon Prime Now service had already seen “very strong demand” in Paris and was fully on course with the volumes targeted. However, it was still too early to say if Amazon would offer the same service to other big French cities.

Prime Now was first introduced on December 2014 in New York City. It has expanded to several other major U.S cities since then. Presently, customers in European cities such as London, Berlin, Madrid, and Milan can enjoy its services as well.

 

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Amazon’s new music streaming service challenges Apple and Spotify

Amazon.com unveiled a full-fledged music streaming service on Wednesday. Owners of its Amazon Echo speaker can subscribe to the service for as low as $3.99 per month. It fast-tracks the industry trend to more variable pricing after years of sticking to $9.99 subscriptions.

Similar to Apple Music and Spotify, the new streaming service, dubbed “Amazon Music Unlimited”, allow users access a massive catalog of songs on demand. To play music on the Echo, subscriptions cost $3.99 per month. Members of Amazon’s Prime shipping and video service would have to pay $7.99 while non-members’ subscription cost is $9.99 per month. In addition, Prime members will have limited streaming service for free.

Amazon is counting on the Echo to set it apart as it delves deeper into the packed streaming arena. The Echo is a smart speaker that responds to voice commands. It has become a surprise hit since its launch last year. Further, the smart speaker’s release has prodded many to predict that voice will become an essential way users interact with technology.  Music provides the key to the device’s attraction.

Amazon Music vice president Steve Boom said that the company has created an intricate system of voice controls for listening on the Echo. Also, Amazon believes that such smart home devices will be a main source of development for the music industry.

The low price for Amazon’s streaming service is consistent with the company’s standing for challenging the competition. This goes to show that the music industry is beginning to accommodate consumers who are reluctant to $9.99 per month. Label executives have been hesitant to budge on price having seen revenues plunge from the CD era. But they have come under pressure as streaming accounts for majority of the profit.

In a business model that requires streaming services to pay majority of their revenues to rights holders, Pandora and Spotify are straining to turn a profit. Amazon, however, can afford to accept a loss on music streaming, and the support to Prime is well worth it.

Jackdaw research analyst said that the premium music service suggests Amazon will progressively offer basic media options through Prime. At the same time, peddling supplementary subscriptions for customers who want to go deeper.

“It’s just making Prime that much stickier,” he said.

AI as attraction

Amazon is confident that the artificial intelligence will keep users tuned in. The company has incorporated artificial intelligence into the system. Consequently, this makes it possible for consumers to ask for songs that fit a certain mood or search with lyrics.

“You can ask for Michael Jackson by saying, ‘Play music by the King of Pop,’” Amazon Music director Kintan Brahmbhatt said. “It’s smart enough to know that’s what you meant.”

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Google Goes Head-To-Head With Apple and Amazon With New Hardware

Google announced on Tuesday a new Pixel smartphone, a smart speaker for the living room called “Home”. A slew of new consumer electronics products for the home were also available.

The announcement is a clear indication that the company plans to contend head on with Apple, Amazon, and even manufacturers of phones using its own Android operating system.

Google hardware chief Rick Osterloh said that if they can work on hardware and software together, they could innovate much better. This is very much like Apple’s established philosophy of tighter integration between hardware and software.

Google designed and developed the Pixel phones from the beginning, unlike previous efforts under the Nexus brand. However, they awarded the manufacturing contract to HTC Corporation of Taiwan.

Echoing another of Apple’s strategy, Google said it would operate exclusively with a single carrier in the United States. The Pixel will launch under Verizon Communications much like Apple’s deal with AT&T when the original iPhone launched. The agreement gave Apple unmatched influence over the look of the phone and how it worked.

The phone comes in two sizes and, according to industry analyst Patrick Moorehead, aside from the high-end camera, the Pixels are very similar to Samsung and iPhone seventh generation phones.

Analysts added that Google’s new phones obviously intended to compete with the iPhone, though promoting its own hardware would likely confound its relationship with Android licensees such as Samsung and LG.

Google’s voice activated AI system

Google opened the event Tuesday by flaunting the Google Assistant. The company’s answer to Amazon’s Alexa and Apple’s Siri is a voice-activated artificial intelligence system. It can make a restaurant reservation with just a few phrases spoken into the phone. The presenter demonstrated this feature during the event.

The assistant is being positioned as the focal element in a line of integrated hardware and software products. It will be embedded into the Pixel and Home products.

The “Home” speaker system is very much comparable to Amazon’s Alexa-powered Echo home speaker system, likely having many similar features.

Meanwhile, Google’s Daydream View virtual reality headset sets the company against Facebook’s Oculus. The device, which will be available in November for $79, is far cheaper and simpler.

Home will also be available in November for $129.

Other products unveiled during the event included a new version of Google’s Chromecast digital media player and a wifi router called Google Wifi.

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Meet ‘Trumpapillar’: The Donald Trump of the Peruvian Amazon

New pictures show a strange, big-haired creature skulking within the Peruvian Amazon. Although what researchers quickly noticed about the peculiar beast was its remarkable resemblance to a particular US presidential candidate. Or to be precise, the Republican’s legendary hair style.

Dubbed as the Flannel Moth Caterpillar (Megalopyge opercularis), this creature boasts feathery, orange tufts closely resembling Donald Trump’s hair. Due to the similarity, the scientists who came across the creature gave it a nickname – “Trumpapillar,” after the candidate.

While roaming the Peruvian Amazon, wildlife photographer Jeff Cremer stumbled upon the dazzling orange and luxuriant fluff ball.

He said, “I was putting on my boots, and someone said, ‘Hey, check out this caterpillar hanging out.’ “Sure enough, it was Donald Trump’s hair hanging on a branch.” He began snapping pictures of the brightly colored larva.

The local’s name for this caterpillar is “ovehillo” which is Spanish for “little sheep.” The Trumpapillar grows to a length of about 2.5 inches.

Trumpapillar living up to its namesake?

Nevertheless, Cremer warns against being fooled by its cute and cuddly appearance. Touching the Trumpapillar can cause great discomfort and a lot of pain. Creme said this is because of the “urticating” hairs that cover it, akin to those Tarantulals sport.

Again like the Tarantula, the Trumpapillar uses its hair as a defense mechanism against would-be predators.

According to Cremer, the fuzzy Flannel Moth caterpillars come in different colors such as white, yellow, red and pink.

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