
Amazon


Amazon Recruiting Rural SMBs as Couriers
Amazon has quietly been recruiting local businesses in rural areas across 10 states as part of its fulfillment network, earning cash on the side for making deliveries of ecommerce orders in hard-to-reach places for contract couriers, according to Recode. They can earn up to $2,000 a week with the side hustle but assume liability.

Shopify Acquires Deliverr for $2.1 Billion
Shopify is acquiring asset-light last-mile startup Deliverr for $2.1B, further building out its fulfillment infrastructure and giving it a counter-move to Amazon’s new Buy With Prime that extends the Prime experience to other retailers. But the question is, will it be enough to enable Shopify to gain ground on its much larger competitor?

Amazon Marketing: Allocate Your Budget, Maximize ROI
Each business must concentrate on certain marketing areas during various growth stages. However, the biggest mistake is being afraid to market. Amazon marketing is a system of accruing progress, and it can’t be profitable from the start. Here are some budgeting guidelines for each stage of your business development.

Amazon Closing 6 Whole Foods Locations
Amazon said it is closing six Whole Foods locations, a rare pullback after the parent company reported a disappointing Q1 loss of $3.8 billion that helped send markets tumbling on April 29. The stores being closed are located in Montgomery and Mobile, AL, Tarzana, CA, Brookline, MA and two in Chicago.

Walmart Offers Discount to New Sellers
In an effort to lure in more third-party sellers as it battles Amazon’s dominant marketplace, Walmart is offering new sellers a 50% discount on commissions for 90 days, while also extending savings on Walmart’s version of FBA to new signups. Discount are available to new merchants who sign up by May 31 and start selling by June 30.

Most Ecommerce Marketplaces Will Fail, Here’s Why
Too often, ecommerce marketplaces are looked at like a new feature, such as adding search capability. Thus, the marketplace project is not set up to overtake the main business, but pitched as a 12-24-month project to so many vendors.. The perspective is inside out. It’s rarely done outside in, from a customer-first point of view.

Amazon Staten Island Union Vote Sends Shockwaves
A tiny startup union dealt a major blow to mighty Amazon with a successful vote at a fulfillment center on Staten Island, NY led by a worker who had been fired two years ago, a move that backfired on the multi-million-dollar effort to thwart the organizing effort. But the matter is far from over as Amazon is sure to challenge the vote.

Retail Media Revenue: Are You Ready to Maximize?
With heady revenue predictions for retail media north of $100 billion, it’s not surprising to see a surge of retailers opening advertising shops in attempts to capture share. But we’re still in the early days, with behemoths scooping up most of the brand spend. Here are six relationship and revenue-building strategies for retailers to consider.
