Copycat versions of popular products are a mainstay of the retail world. It’s not common to see brands fight back against giants to defend their intellectual property. | learn more
“Amazon and Walmart both use artificial intelligence to decide whether it makes economic sense to accept a return. These merchants can absorb the cost. But for smaller merchants, returnless refunds are a recipe for financial disaster.” | learn more
In 2018, the anonymous blogger behind Deep Throat IPO wrote this incredibly long post exploring the question “What would have happened if Amazon and Walmart had never been born?” It’s a fascinating exploration of the dynamics of US retail and […]
Benedict Evans muses on what happens next. “Walmart was built on trucking and freeways (and computers), but Walmart is a retailer, not a trucking company: it used trucks to change retail. Now people do the same with software.” | learn more
This began as the most expensive acquihire ($3.3 billion for Jet.com) I’ve ever seen and appears to have ended successfully. He’s leaving them in great shape as a credible competitor online. “Walmart CEO Doug McMillon credited Lore in a companywide […]
The folks in Seattle aren’t the only ones who can reach across industries to make moves! “Walmart said Monday that it will launch a fintech start-up with Ribbit Capital, one of the investment firms behind Robinhood.” | learn more
“With eventually more than 1000 of these mini-FCs, Amazon can cut the local advantage of rivals such as Walmart and Target, which can both leverage their brick and mortar stores to support e-fulfillment, either using buy on-line, pick up in-store […]
Ben Thompson explained in 2017 that Amazon bought Whole Foods so they could be a customer. Rumors of Amazon Fresh’s launch reached us in early 2019. Wal-Mart still dominates the grocery category with more than double the sales of 2nd place Kroger. […]
It’s probably good for all of us that large consumer-first companies continue their push into retail healthcare. Between Amazon, Walmart and Walgreens, that’s a lot of pressure on the status quo. | learn more
Walmart’s had an online marketplace since 2009, though it’s always fallen short of Amazon’s in scale. Now they’re teaming up with Shopify to bring more sellers and more products to the platform. It’s also a reflection of (I think) philosophical […]