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FTC: Amazon Duped Consumers into Prime, Then Made It Hard to Leave

| Mike O'Brien

The Federal Trade Commission has filed suit against Amazon, alleging it duped millions of consumers into signing up for its Prime subscription program, then made it difficult for them to quit, an allegation the company vigorously denies. The FTC claims Amazon intentionally complicated the cancellation process, adding it “slowed or rejected changes that would’ve made it easier …”

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Amazon CEO Remains Upbeat as Headwinds Blow

| Mike O'Brien

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy kept a positive tone while running down ways that Amazon has had to scale back its business to accommodate shifting conditions in his second annual shareholder letter, including reducing and reconfiguring its fulfillment network and dealing with a slowdown in cloud computing. The company is also trying to figure out a physical grocery model that works, Jassy said.

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Amazon Cutting 9,000 More Jobs; iRobot Facing Opposition

| Mike O'Brien

More bad Amazon news: 9,000 additional layoffs are planned on top of 18,000 previously announced, and there are efforts to block the $1.7 billion iRobot acquisition here and in the EU. On the plus side, the FTC reportedly won’t block Amazon’s purchase of One Medical, but reportedly not for lack of evidence of anticompetitive behavior.

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Pricing Competitively on Amazon: A Simple Guide

| Arjun Narayan

Having the right price plan for your private label business on Amazon is critical. There is no one-size-fits-all approach since quality, production costs and what your customers want might all differ from those of your rivals. That said, here are a few data-driven methods to help you determine the ideal pricing.

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Amazon Lowers Q4 Outlook, Misses Q3 Revenue Estimate

| Mike O'Brien

Amazon reported third quarter revenue under estimates and provided a lowered fourth quarter outlook on Thursday, causing yet more jitters on Wall Street and in the industry as retail swings into the home stretch of the peak holiday season, and sending shares down 20% after hours.

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Amazon Aggregators See Deal Flow Dip in Q1

| Mike O'Brien

Amazon aggregators have seen massive investment and deal flow since 2020, but the activity has been slowing as the valuations of top sellers has increased, according to a report on M&A activity in the sector from investment banking firm Capstone Partners. There were just 30 acquisitions of major FBA brands in Q1 vs. 159 in all of 2021.

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Amazon Reports $3.8B Loss, Looks at Rocky Near Term

| Mike O'Brien

Amazon’s vaunted flywheel has hit a bit of a snag. But given the company’s superpower ability to continually evolve and innovate, and the general trajectory of double-digit ecommerce growth, it may end up looking like a speed bump in hindsight.

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Former Amazon Exec: Bets a Critical Component of Innovation

| Ian McRae

A former Amazon executive shared insights and tactics for retailers looking to innovate and reduce friction to deliver a better customer experience with a diverse group of executives gathered recently at Ecommerce Operations Technology Summit 2022 in Orlando. 

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Amazon Union Battles Sees Objections Flying on Both Sides

| Mike O'Brien

Amazon is challenging a union vote at a distribution center in Staten Island, NY, saying it should be thrown out due to illegal coercion on the part of the union, while the labor group is accusing the retail giant of sour grapes over an election it won. Union and employer are also locked in a dispute over an election in Bessemer, AL.