It is expected that Apple will announce today a new service called iCloud. The service is expected to allow consumers to store music online while transferring the data to their home PCs without connecting.
Apple has signed cloud-music licensing agreements with several music label recently that would allow consumers to stream music online while also downloading songs on iTunes.
Both Google and Amazon have launched similar services recently.
Google has come out with their own electronic store and it will be giving Amazon some solid competition. Google has scanned about 15 million books they will be using for their store with 4,000 publishers giving them permission to use their books. 52% of the listed sales price will go to the publisher, regardless of Google mark-downs. The Google store will offer consumers electronic books that can be read on almost any machine, except on Kindle. The alternative to Amazon also claims to have one of the most expansive selections because of their various publishers onboard. With E-Books predicted to hit $1 billion in sales by the end of the year, this gives consumers another option.
For the first time, electronic books for Amazon’s Kindle has outnumbers sales for hardcover books consecutively for the past 3 months. The Kindle which has been on the market for 33 months has been selling an average of 143 ebooks for every 100 hardcover books. This number recently jumped to 180 ebooks for every 100 hardcover books sold on Amazon.com.
Consumers who do not own a Kindle can enjoy Kindle books on many other devices such as laptops, ipohnes, ipads, Blackberries and Android phones.
This study does not include paperback book sales but it’s amazing how technology plays such a large role in such a simple pleasure.
We all know how successful Wal-Mart has been in retailing. No matter what is going on with the economy, Wal-Mart has found a way to be successful. Well, it now appears they are getting aggressive on the internet as well.
In the past, Wal-Mart has had many of their products for sale via their Web site. Today, they announced they have added almost one million new items from outside sellers to their Web site.
The Walmart Marketplace has many product categories, and the retailer chose companies based on their product assortment and customer service. Orders will be placed on walmart.com, and will be managed and supported by the chosen retailer. Wal-Mart will take care of the shipping, handling, and customer service.
Needless to say, Wal-Mart has had great success, and it is safe to say that companies like Amazon and eBay will pay close attention to Wal-Mart’s activities. Can Wal-Mart have the same impact on the internet as they have had on smaller retail stores? Stay tuned.
According to the Lexington Herald-Leader, Jeff Bezos arrived unannounced in Lexington to work this week at the Amazon fulfillment center. According to the Herald-Leader, Local Amazon employees say Bezos is working in the warehouse with the company’s hourly employees to see what they do and hear their comments about their work.
This is brilliant on two fronts.
1. It is brilliant for a Leader to roll up their sleeves, and talk to the people who make the Company work.
2. It would be more brilliant if Bezos came in “under secret” knowing people would talk about it, thus creating a buzz.
Since it would be impossible to keep the fact that Jeff Bezos arrived in Lexington a secret, one can only assume that this is another feather in the cap of Jeff as a PR genius.
Either way, Bezos shows his brilliance here.