Tag Archives: amzn

Amazon Grows Push-Button E-Commerce Empire

Push a button, get some toilet paper. That’s the idea behind Amazon.com ( AMZN ) Dash buttons , which for Amazon Prime members will ship a range of products to the doorstep of American households with the push of a button — free two-day shipping and all. Thursday, Amazon announced that it’s adding a bevy of new products to its line of Dash buttons, bringing the total to “more than 100,” according to a press release. The new merchandise includes things like coffee, beauty products, and yes, condoms. “The consumer packaged-goods companies are interested in anything that they can do to grow,” Scot Wingo, executive chairman of ChannelAdvisor, told IBD in a telephone interview Thursday morning. ChannelAdvisor works with third-party sellers on a range of e-commerce websites such as Amazon.com and eBay ( EBAY ). Wingo says the consumer packaged-goods firms aren’t getting more sales in brick-and-mortar stores and have looked to e-commerce to boost stagnant revenue. And Amazon — the ever-innovating Seattle-based firm — is trying to capture more dollars that households spend. Though Amazon did not disclose the exact number of Dash buttons sold, or the revenue said buttons generated (which is typical of the tight-lipped company), it did say that Dash orders have grown by more than 75% in the last three months and now take place about once every minute. Wingo called those numbers “interesting.” “Peak Dash button will be in the mid-hundreds — the 200 to 300 range. From there, we’re likely to see Dash functionality integrated into more and more products, like the Brita filter Amazon has already announced.” Amazon’s new additions to the Dash line include Energizer, Arm & Hammer cat litter and Peet’s Coffee, among others. When asked about rivals such as eBay and Wal-Mart ( WMT ) tackling a similar program, Wingo said that it wasn’t likely anytime soon. “Amazon is on version-nine-thinking, and the other guys are on version two,” he said. There are already rumors swirling about the second generation of Dash buttons following Dave Zatz’s discovery , through regulatory filings, that it may rely on Bluetooth. The current version connects to the web via Wi-Fi. Wingo says that the Bluetooth implementation could mean it would connect to Amazon Echo , the firm’s line of “smart” speakers that include Amazon’s virtual assistant Alexa. “It may mean the intersection between Dash and Echo, with more verbal commands to use Dash buttons,” Wingo said. ITG Investment Research analyst Steve Weinstein released a research note Thursday which said that Amazon is on track to a “modest” revenue beat in Q1. The company has also been criticized for the amount of cardboard it generates, along with other e-commerce rivals. Amazon stock was down a fraction to 597 in early afternoon trading on the stock market today . The company has an IBD Composite Rating of 78, where 99 is the highest.

Fitbit’s Latest Fitness Trackers Off To Strong Start

Wearable fitness device maker Fitbit ( FIT ) announced Thursday that it shipped more than 1 million units each of its latest products — the Fitbit Blaze smart fitness watch and Fitbit Alta fitness wristband — in their first month of availability. Fitbit stock has been depressed this year in part because investors were disappointed in the company’s products announced since the CES in January. Fitbit went public last June 18 at 20 and climbed as high as 51.90 on Aug. 5. Fitbit stock was up over 6% to above 14 in midday trading on the stock market today . Fitbit’s message on Thursday was that both new products are off to a strong start. The San Francisco-based company said its Blaze sales have exceeded the company’s internal forecasts. Some industry analysts were worried the fitness-centric watch would compare poorly to Apple ‘s ( AAPL ) more capable, yet pricier, Apple Watch. Since its launch, Fitbit Blaze has been the No. 1 best-selling device in the smartwatch and heart-monitor categories on Amazon.com ( AMZN ). Fitbit Alta also is currently one of the top-selling devices in the fitness tracker and pedometer categories on Amazon. “At Fitbit, we continue to focus on developing innovative and motivating fitness-first products that our customers love and that help them achieve their health and fitness goals,” Woody Scal, chief business officer at Fitbit, said in a statement . “The positive response we’ve received to Blaze and Alta demonstrates our continued ability to innovate and drive strong demand for Fitbit products, which is what has made and kept us the leader in the global wearables category.” The Fitbit Blaze costs $199.95. Last week, Apple cut the starting price for its Apple Watch to $299 from $349. The Fitbit Alta costs $129.95. It competes with fitness trackers from Garmin ( GRMN ), Jawbone, Microsoft ( MSFT ) and others.

AT&T Mulling Own Android Smartphone Play, Despite Amazon Flop?

AT&T ( T ) is in talks with startup Cyanogen, which has already partnered with Microsoft ( MSFT ), to bring a smartphone to market powered by Cyanogen’s version of open-source Android, not Google’s, say reports. Amazon.com ( AMZN ) flopped with its “Fire” mobile phone, which used a variant of Google’s Android operating system. Well-funded Cyanogen’s technology, though, could give AT&T an edge. Spain-based Telefonica ( TEF ) in late 2015 was the first European wireless firm to launch a smartphone running the Cyanogen operating system. Cyanogen, which has raised $115 million in funding, aims to sell handset makers a version of Android that doesn’t include Google’s services and online store. Under parent Alphabet ( GOOGL ), Google has been asserting more control over Android devices,  giving AT&T motivation to seek alternatives , said a report on The Information news site. Besides Cyanogen, AT&T would also work with China-based equipment maker ZTE to develop the smartphone. Microsoft has partnered with Cyanogen to make apps for Skype, Cortana and OneNote available on its Android-based OS. One problem with Amazon’s Fire phone was that its online store did not have all the popular apps from Google and third-party developers. Amazon ended Fire Phone sales last September. Image provided by Shutterstock .