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Retailers take on Amazon Prime with new subscription services

Mar 7, 2024
Walmart's on-demand delivery program starts Sunday. Target's version of Amazon Prime launches in April. Is there room for more subscriptions?
The average American has12 subscriptions, says Raghu Iyengar of The Wharton School. That doesn't leave much room for Target's and Walmart's.
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Why is streaming video still so messy?

Dec 6, 2022
Streaming platforms are experimenting with different subscription models, advertising strategies and even partnerships with competitors.
Streaming service HBO Max has relaunched on Amazon Prime Video.
Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images

Amazon has tacked on a Whole Foods delivery fee. Add to cart?

Oct 29, 2021
Even the giant online retailer is feeling the high cost and slim margin of the grocery business.
"Grocery, in the best of circumstances, is a very low-margin business," says Sucharita Kodali, a retail analyst at Forrester.
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Amazon, other retailers face tight supply chains for Prime Day

Jun 21, 2021
Retailers have been scrambling to build up inventory — and deals have been disappearing quickly as inventory sells out.
Amazon Prime packages ready to ship.
Leon Neal/Getty Images

What challenges face Amazon without Bezos at the helm?

Brad Stone, author of “Amazon Unbound,” explains how Bezos shaped Amazon’s business and culture.
Bezos' personal dedication to innovation and obsession with preventing stagnation at Amazon influenced many of the company's successful projects, but also its failures and its problematic workplace culture.
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Amazon Prime Day boosts small business shopping, too

Oct 13, 2020
There are small- and medium-sized businesses who use Amazon's platform and logistics to reach wider audiences.
More than half the products sold on Amazon come from smaller companies.
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Walmart launching new service to compete with Amazon Prime

Sep 1, 2020
But customer loyalty and just pure laziness might get in the way.
A Walmart store in Washington, D.C. The retail giant is launching a subscription service that includes unlimited shipping.
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

Amazon's one-day shipping bet dents profits this holiday season

Dec 26, 2019
It costs Amazon more to deliver the average package than you spend on the item itself.
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Why Netflix and WarnerMedia want sitcoms for the streaming wars

Sep 18, 2019
Netflix hopes "Seinfeld" will keep the streaming giant master of its domain, while HBO Max hopes to enter the field with a "Big Bang."
The cast of "Seinfeld."
Getty Images

The path left by your online purchases

Dec 27, 2018
You might have done a lot of online shopping this holiday season, and you’re not alone — more than 1 billion items were shipped for free in the United States this holiday with Amazon Prime, the company reported. And with the rise of online shopping comes a lot more warehouses popping up in rural communities […]