Amazon bidding for Signify Health & Peloton's start on Amazon

What would online shoppers rather quit – Candy, Alcohol … or Amazon? What is the most important factor when ordering products online and how often do consumers do it? Are Sponsored Ads distracting or maybe even helpful?

In collaboration with the market research institute Appinio, we surveyed a total of 1,000 participants in Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK, France, and the US in July about Amazon and online shopping in general from the customer perspective. The result is our first Amazon Shopper Report, which will be published annually from now on.

The German version, showcasing many exciting and some surprising insights, is already available. The country-specific reports will be finished soon. Stay tuned!

Amazon Tests “TikTok”-Like Feed in App

Amazon is currently testing a vertical photo and video feed within its app called “Inspire”. The feed showcases posts that include purchase links to featured items. Among users of the social media platform “TikTok”, Amazon product recommendations by influencers who earn commissions through affiliate links are reportedly very popular. If Amazon sees similar potential in the feature and whether it is going to be rolled out to the public, is uncertain and remains to be seen at this point in time.

Amazon is bidding for Signify Health

Following the recently announced acquisition of One Medical, Amazon continues to make headlines regarding its expansion in the healthcare sector. According to the latest news, the online giant is among the potential buyers for Signify Health – a healthcare provider that uses advanced technology to facilitate home care, among other things. On the other hand, the company’s own health service Amazon Care will be discontinued at the end of the year. The reason for this is thought to be insufficient demand from external users. Remazing Managing Director Hannes Detjen provides a personal assessment of this in his current monthly LinkedIn newsletter.

Peloton to start selling on Amazon

U.S. fitness equipment and media company Peloton has announced it will begin selling a selection of its products (including stationary bikes, dumbbells, and water bottles) on Amazon. After Peloton’s share price fell 62.3% since the beginning of the year, the company plans to close a number of brick-and-mortar stores and partner with third-party logistics companies to reduce its own costs. Since announcing its intention to use Amazon as a sales channel from now on, Peloton’s shares have risen 15% in the US. Rumors of a takeover of Peloton by Amazon, which had already emerged at the beginning of the year, also seem to be intensifying.

Probably no takeover of Electronic Arts

Last Friday, a U.S. Today report fueled speculation about an acquisition of Electronic Arts (EA) by Amazon. As a result, shares in the U.S. video game company briefly rose by almost 15%. However, insiders have now revised Amazon’s supposedly concrete takeover plans. However, the alleged interest of the Seattle-based conglomerate in EA is not too improbable: Amazon CEO Andy Jassy has already predicted a great growth potential for the video game industry in October last year. In addition, the e-commerce and cloud giant has been active in the gaming sector for quite some time, including the acquisition of the live streaming platform Twitch a few years ago.

No more “Amazon Fresh” stores in the UK

As in the rest of Europe, the rising cost of living is forcing consumers in the UK to save money. Following currently unpromising sales in the 19 existing Amazon Fresh stores in the country, Amazon has now suspended the planned expansion with 100 additional supermarkets where contactless payments can be made without a cashier.

eBay expands with more products for cars and trading cards

The online marketplace is expanding its “parts and accessories” product category with the acquisition of the myFitment group of companies, a provider of automation tools for selling auto parts and accessories online, and the launch of its new eBay Motors YouTube channel. Additionally, eBay has announced the acquisition of online marketplace TCGplayer for trading card enthusiasts, highlighting the company’s efforts to reach new audiences. eBay says it is its intention to integrate outside expertise through strategic acquisitions in order to expand its own offerings.

Galaxus: “slow delivery” instead of same-day delivery

Swiss online marketplace Galaxus has announced that it will offer its customers in the DACH market “slow delivery” as an additional delivery option. With the new service, online shoppers will receive their purchased products two days after making an order. According to the largest online retailer in Switzerland, the move is intended to relieve logistics crews and save costs. However, the success of this “snail mail” remains to be seen, as the concept runs counter to the trend of delivering online orders as quickly as possible. For example, in our recently published Amazon Shopper Report 2022 , German consumers cited “fast delivery” as their main reason for ordering on Amazon.

Prime competitor Walmart+ launches new rewards program

Following Walmart’s announcement to add a video streaming service to Walmart+, the company has now published another update to its membership program. A new cash-back feature within the Walmart app will allow members to earn “Wallet points” in their Walmart store of choice when they purchase designated products online. The points balance can then be applied to a future purchase at Walmart for a lower than the original price.

It looks like Amazon is planning to roll out new placement options for Sponsored Brand ads. With the update-in-the-making, the ads will then not only be placed on the top and bottom of the search results page but also on the left pane of the SERPs as Sponsored Display and DSP ads. We are curious to see how the new placement option will affect the CPCs of sponsored brand ads if they suddenly have to compete with sponsored display ads.