Prologis, the largest U.S. player in commercial real estate including warehouses and fulfillment centers, is acquiring Duke Realty in a deal valued at $26 billion, giving Prologis an additional 153 million square feet of active space plus another 11 million square feet under development in 19 markets. Investors were wary of the move.
Walmart plans to open up four high-tech, automated fulfillment centers over the next three years, which when completed will enable it to reach 95% of the country in the Amazon Prime standard of two days or less, while streamlining fulfillment processes and increasing throughput. The news drops between a Q1 miss and Prime Day.
Ecommerce sales will top $1 trillion for the first time this year, while Amazon will become the biggest retailer in the U.S. by 2026, surpassing Walmart with a 14.9% market share vs. 12.7%, according to a new report from Edge By Ascential. Costco and Home Depot will hold the number 3 and 4 spots, respectively, the report states.
While U.S. parcel volume rose nearly 6% to 21.5B pieces in 2021, it was the slowest growth in five years, and considerably less than the massive 31.5% gain in a pandemic-driven 2020, according to Pitney Bowes’ annual index. It also showed smaller carriers growing rapidly but still holding a tiny percentage of the overall pie.
It’s impossible to ignore the fact that most if not all fundamental features and characteristics of DTC brands are not just different from Amazon, but diametrically opposed to it. While Amazon takes the word “monolithic” to new extremes, platforms like Shopify thrive by staying low to the ground and expanding outward.
An Amazon shareholder is suing founder and executive chairman Jeff Bezos, along with current CEO Andy Jassy, CFO Brian Olsavsky, other executives and the entire board of directors, claiming misuse of customer data could lead to widespread mistrust and wreck the company.
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 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?
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 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.