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Target’s Restock next-day delivery service goes nationwide
With an eye on chipping away at Amazon's home delivery dominance, Target is expanding its next-day household essentials program across the country. The company says the Restock service is now available to 75 percent of the population, and it's slashing the delivery fee from $4.99 to $2.99. Holders of Target's credit or debit Redcard, meanwhile, don't need to pay for shipping at all -- something that Amazon's Pantry program doesn't currently offer.
Amazon may finally bring its full retail business to Brazil
In 2017, Amazon Brazil started allowing third-party sellers to list their items on the website. Apparently, though, that could've been just the beginning of the e-commerce titan's expansion in the biggest retail market in Latin America. According to Reuters, the company held a meeting with a bunch of manufacturers in Brazil last week to discuss its plans on stocking and selling goods -- everything from consumer electronics to perfume -- itself. It follows a previous Reuters report, which says Amazon is looking to rent a warehouse just outside of Sao Paulo.
Amazon’s Echo Look taps into Vogue and GQ for style help
Magazines are constantly looking at ways to bridge the gap between their paper-based and digital audiences, especially with an ecommerce slant, which has demonstrated its potential in a number of innovative areas, including augmented reality. Now, Condé Nast fashion bibles Vogue and GQ are experimenting with content on the exclusive Amazon Echo Look, which is basically Alexa with a camera (and is only available to purchase by invitation at this stage). From February 19, readers can take a selfie with the Look, send it to the app and get a host of celebrity and fashion content in return, some of which they can buy through the app, with Condé Nast getting a cut of the sale.
Alibaba reportedly plans to spend $15 billion on 'moonshot' projects
Research and development in the tech industry is a pretty big deal. Google spins off its massive advertising revenues into all sorts of wild projects aimed at finding the next big thing. Apple and Amazon both spend billions each year, too, with both companies building R&D centers around the glove. China's largest online commerce company, Alibaba, appears to be following suit, with a plan to more than double its research and development spending from $6.4 billion annually to $15 billion over the next three years, according to a report at Bloomberg. The expenditures will help fund next-generation technology discoveries and "moonshot" projects that could disrupt entire industries, Bloomberg says.
Aphex Twin is the latest artist to open an online record store
Aphex Twin is opening an online record store. For his own music, of course. The Vinyl Factory reports that Richard D. James has started his direct-to-fans store with reissues of his back catalog including ... I Care Because You Do and newer stuff like Computer Controlled Acoustic Instruments pt2. More than that, there's a ton of digital-only and unreleased music on offer as well. What's available today isn't the half of it, though. "ALL Rephlex material will be going up here in due course+xtras," a note at the bottom of the site reads.
Nike will team up with Amazon to fight fake kicks
Amazon has realized that counterfeit products posing as the real deal annoys consumers and dilutes trust in its marketplace. That's likely why it came down harshly on vendors last fall, requiring a hefty $1,000 to $1,500 fee and tons of paperwork to sell products from prime brands like Samsung, Adidas, Hasbro. But that was a stopgap move: Amazon has allegedly been working on a registry of approved vendors to assure consumers that the merch they buy is the real deal, and Nike might be the first brand to get this thorough vetting.
eBay takes on Amazon with guaranteed 3-day shipping
In an effort to deal with formidable rival Amazon, eBay has launched a new program giving shoppers guaranteed three-day shipping on 20 million products. Called "Guaranteed Delivery," it also includes free shipping on "millions" of those items, according to eBay, and will roll out in the US starting this summer. The online marketplace also revamped its home page today to provide a more personalized experience for shoppers.
Walmart kills its Amazon Prime-style shipping service
After launching it less than a year ago, Walmart is scrapping ShippingPass, a subscription program meant to compete with Amazon Prime's free shipping. Instead, it will offer free two-day shipping without a membership, provided you order goods worth up to $35, down from $50. By contrast, ShippingPass members got free shipping on all items with a $50 membership -- half the price of Amazon Prime, but without major perks like same-day shipping and music and video streaming.
LeEco's phones and TVs are coming to Amazon and Best Buy
LeEco is perhaps best known away from China for its electric cars (and the cash crunch they caused), but it's now making a big US push with its bread-and-butter electronics products. After launching its LeMall.com site earlier this month, it'll let US consumers buy its phones and TVs at retailers like Amazon, Best Buy and Target, starting on December 1st. To entice buyers, it's offering free trials for AT&T's DirecTV Now streaming service, launching tomorrow.
Mastercard's 'selfie pay' comes to Europe
Have you dreamt of a world where everyone verifies their online purchases with a selfie? Me neither, but apparently that's a future Mastercard believes in. The company's "Identity Check Mobile," better known as selfie pay, is rolling out now in the following European markets: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the UK. It follows trials in the US, Canada and the Netherlands, which have presumably gone down a storm -- Mastercard says the technology will be available "across the globe" starting next year.
Pinterest is betting big on video ads for brands
While showcase site Pinterest is still releasing features in line with its image-focused brand, it's finally expanding its advertising options beyond still photos. Today it's introducing promoted video ads, letting users expand its cinematic pins into full auto-playing vids.
Amazon Prime Day was 60 percent bigger than last year's sale
Amazon's Prime Day ended up being more successful than even the company could have predicted, with customer orders surpassing Prime Day 2015 by over 60 percent worldwide and 50 percent in the United States alone.
Walmart Pay launches across Texas and Arkansas today
Walmart's mobile payment service is beginning a massive rollout today, with Walmart Pay launching at around 600 stores across Texas and Arkansas.
PayPal Credit comes to the UK with interest-free plans
PayPal wants to be the method that everyone naturally defers to when buying goods and services online. Instead of grabbing your debit or credit card, the aim to make you naturally hit the PayPal button whenever you reach the checkout. To incentivise this, the company is rapidly expanding PayPal Credit in the UK, which helps you make purchases even when you don't have the funds in your bank account. You'll need to apply for the privilege online, but if you pass the company's credit check you can get zero percent interest on orders over £150 for the first four months.
Google kicks off a public pilot for Hands Free mobile payments
Heads up, Silicon Valley residents: the days of pulling out your credit card to pay for Big Macs are numbered. Google just announced that the pilot program for its Hands Free payments scheme has gone live for certain stores in San Francisco's South Bay, so all you'll have to do is tell the cashier you're "Paying with Google." We're trying to figure out if there's a cap to how many people can sign up, but for now, it looks like all local residents need is an Android device running 4.2 or newer, or an iPhone 4S and newer.
Evernote to stop selling notebooks, scanners and socks
Evernote is still one of the most popular and fully-featured note-taking apps, however as a business it's been struggling of late. Following extensive layoffs and the departure of its long-time CEO Phil Libin, the company is cutting back on nonessential projects. The latest is Evernote Market, an online store where it sells physical goods such as "smart" notebooks, scanners and styluses. Most of these are complimentary to its software, making it easier to transfer handwritten notes. While useful for users, the entire initiative was probably a distraction for Evernote.
Amazon will ditch its daily local deals on December 18 (update: Register too)
If you're the sort of person who really likes getting $50 of seafood for $25, your day just got a little more depressing. Amazon just announced that it would stop selling those sorts of daily deals from both its AmazonLocal site and its corresponding app on December 18th. Don't worry if you've loaded already up your calendar with days-long real estate courses and cheap car washes — any vouchers you already have, or buy before the deadline, will remain valid. Update: That's not all for the local services pullback, as Amazon also revealed it's shutting down the Local Register app that competed with the likes of Square and PayPal to process payments for small businesses. As of the 30th it is no longer accepting new customers, and the service will fully shut down on February 1st.
Four weeks with Jet (aka 'My month without Amazon')
I placed my very first order on Amazon.com for two very popular albums back on June 20th, 2000. I'd later go on to place about 230 orders, including everything from a mattress (no wait, make that two mattresses; don't ask) and soap -- lots and lots of soap. I loved Amazon so much that at one point I remember saying it was the kind of brand that could do no wrong. But, soon after that second mattress order, my romance with the company began to fall apart, thanks to shoddy logistics and problems with Amazon's renowned two-day Prime shipping.
Amazon's 'Handmade' section takes aim at Etsy
There's a lot to love about Etsy -- it's one of the best places on the internet to find all sorts of stuff like minimalist Captain America prints or laser-cut Deathly Hallows earrings, but shipping windows are kind of a crapshoot. That could change because Amazon is apparently emailing some of the hand-crafted goods emporium's sellers and offering them to peddle their wares, according to The Wall Street Journal. The forthcoming section on Bezo's ecommerce behemoth is called Handmade, and invites lead to a survey asking about what categories the wares would fall under (11 total, including baby, apparel, pet supplies) but there isn't any word about when the section will go live.
Burger King starts online order and home delivery trial in the UK
We've all been there. It's raining outside and you're nursing a horrendous hangover from the night before. All you really want is a greasy Double Whopper with large fries and an ice cold Sprite, but the thought of stepping outside is too much to bear. "Why doesn't Burger King do home deliveries in the UK?!" You cry from the murky depths of a small duvet cocoon. Well, today your prayers have finally been answered. The fast-food chain is trialling such a service for eight of its restaurants across Britain, covering Northampton, Romford, Truro, Hornchurch, Gants Hill, Hull, Skegness and Hayes. Delivery is free for eligible postcodes and Burger King will accept orders both online and over the phone from midday to 3pm and 6pm to 10pm. The trial is only for three months, but the company says it's planning a wider national roll-out later this year. McDonald's is yet to offer such a service, but if this takes off we suspect it won't be long before the golden arches follow suit.
