Amazons toughest Q4?

General Updates

Amazon’s first Prime Day in autumn brings new challenges

This year’s Prime Day will add another month to the most exciting business period of the year – and with it, new difficulties. In this article, GeekWire presents the challenges Amazon and retailers have to face and the impact the simultaneous corona pandemic has on their business.

US antitrust authority wants to prohibit Amazon the sales of own brands

The House of Representatives’ Antitrust Law Subcommittee published a report on Tuesday stating that Amazon’s dominance in online retailing gives the company a monopoly power over third-party sellers in its marketplace. Lawmakers also estimate that Amazon controls about 50% or more of the U.S. online retail market, which is higher than analysts have previously predicted. The committee is calling for restrictions–among other things, that Amazon is no longer allowed to sell its own products on its marketplace in the future.

US retailers want to beat Amazon’s delivery speed with pickup option

Walmart, Target, and Best Buy want to try to distract customers from Amazon Prime Day by having their own sales and offering pick-up options. During the coronavirus pandemic, online purchases and in-store pickup have become a safe and convenient alternative to in-store shopping. However, large retailers will have to prove that they can keep up as high discounts and holiday shopping drive demand.

Interest decreased: 2/3 of Germans are more skeptical about Black Friday offers (German source)

According to a survey by the German price comparison site Idealo two out of three consumers want to spend less or no money on Black Friday of this year. In 2020, shoppers plan to be particularly careful with their money and not to be blinded by supposedly good offers.

Social Media makes Amazon competition in the holiday season (German source)

For the demographic of 18 to 24 year olds, Amazon receives increasing competition from social networks according to a survey by Bazaarvoice. Instagram serves the young target group as source of inspiration, ranking number 2 after Amazon with 48%, followed by Pinterest (23%), and TikTok (20%). The survey also revealed that one-third of Germans who shop online are starting their holiday shopping early this year.

Corona infections among employees at Amazon are comparatively much lower than the general population

Nearly 20,000 Amazon workers in the U.S.A. (less than 1.5% of the company’s frontline workers) had confirmed or suspected corona virus infections. The company stated that it had employed 1,372,000 frontline workers at Amazon and its Whole Foods stores since the beginning of March. According to the company, the infection rate among the employees was on average 42% lower than in the surrounding communities, considering the age of the workforce.

Amazon presents first of 100,000 planned electrical delivery vehicles

Amazon unveiled the first of its planned own electric delivery vehicles that could deliver packages next year. The company plans to have 10,000 on the road by 2022 and 100,000 by 2030. The company first announced in February that it had ordered the delivery vehicles from electric vehicle manufacturer Rivian. The electric vehicles will help Amazon achieve its goal of climate neutrality by 2040 for The Climate Pledge and further expand its own logistics.

What caught our attention

Preparing for Q4: In the Vendor Central News section, Amazon has prepared some useful training tips to be prepared for the peak season of the year. Among them: How to ensure the availability of your products, submit offers, advertise, and send your products to Amazon in the most efficient way.

Podcasts: In the podcast of Warenausgang.com Florian Böhme (Country Manager Amazon Business DACH / CEE) talks about the current developments and the impact of Amazon Business, new features and the Amazon Business Exchange. (German only)

Amazon Germany CEO Ralf Kleber spoke in the interview of the OMR Podcast about his first meeting with Jeff Bezos, criticism of the company and milestones in his career. (German only)

Amazon has informed vendors about the next steps before the Brexit on January 1, 2021:

Saturday, November 14: Remission orders for cross-border stock will no longer be removed.
Friday, December 18: Stock transfers with pan-European shipping through Amazon between the UK and the EU will be stopped.
Monday, December 21: Cross-border shipments via the European shipping network and pan-European shipments through Amazon will be phased out and will end completely on Monday, December 28.

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All the best and stay healthy,

Your Team at Remazing

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