Tag: Prime

To gain a larger market share in the fresh grocery delivery market, Amazon recently announced a significant expansion of its same-day delivery service. This expansion adds 1300 new towns and cities across the United States, bringing the service's total coverage to over 2300 locations. This expansion targets Instacart, extending its reach to more cities and cities. The newly added areas include Boise, Idaho; Salt Lake City, Utah; Fort Collins, Colorado; Omaha, Nebraska; and Des Moines, Iowa. Amazon stated that it plans to expand the service to even more cities by 2026. Market analysts believe that Amazon's move is intended to give its platform sufficient strength to directly compete with rivals such as Instacart and Walmart+, which also offer fresh grocery delivery services. Temperature-controlled logistics and mixed delivery allow consumers to conveniently purchase electronics alongside groceries. The biggest feature of this service is that it allows consumers to order fresh produce such as fruits, vegetables, dairy products, and meats together with Amazon's traditional products like electronics or books. To ensure the quality of fresh produce, Amazon uses a specialized temperature-controlled fulfillment network and insulated bags for delivery, ensuring the goods arrive in optimal condition. Regarding shipping costs, Prime members enjoy free shipping on orders over $25; those below the threshold or non-Prime members pay a $13 shipping fee per order. Fresh produce is a major driver of "fast delivery." Amazon data shows that fresh groceries account for nine of the top ten most popular items on its fast delivery service (almost entirely fresh fruits and vegetables), indicating a high demand for quickly obtaining ingredients like avocados. Amazon is also continuously expanding the range of items available for delivery through this method by integrating products from its Whole Foods division.

Amazon recently announced that its cloud-based game streaming service, Amazon Luna, which was teased for a revamp in early October, has officially relaunched with a brand-new look. The biggest highlight of this revamp is not only offering it as a free add-on to Amazon Prime memberships, but also introducing a new multiplayer game mode called "GameNight." Core Change: "GameNight" Turns Your Phone into a Controller, Focusing on Party Fun. Compared to the previous Luna or most other game streaming services, the "GameNight" mode is Amazon's core differentiating strategy in this revamp. "GameNight" features a series of party games suitable for multiplayer fun, and its biggest feature is that the controls for these games have been redesigned so that they can be controlled directly through a smartphone. This is clearly to minimize the barrier to entry, allowing friends and family to easily join in parties without needing to prepare multiple game controllers; they can simply use their phones. Currently, "GameNight" includes popular games such as *The Jackbox Party Pack 9*, as well as redesigned versions of *Tetris Effect: Connected* and *Angry Birds*. Furthermore, "GameNight" also includes at least one Amazon original game, *Courtroom Chaos: Starring Snoop Dogg*, where players will debate in a virtual courtroom, with the AI-powered Snoop Dogg serving as judge. The controller game library has also expanded, adding AAA titles. Besides "GameNight," which primarily focuses on mobile controls, the revamped Luna service still requires a physical controller (supporting Bluetooth or Amazon's own Luna Controller Wi-Fi controller)...

Amazon announced the full integration of its Prime Gaming service into its cloud gaming platform, Amazon Luna, and simultaneously launched the new "GameNight" social party game feature. This allows players to join games solely through their smartphones, eliminating the need for additional controllers. This signifies Amazon's increasing focus on concentrating its gaming resources and brand influence on the Luna service to enhance user engagement and seek breakthroughs in the fiercely competitive cloud gaming market. GameNight: Social Games You Can Join with Your Phone. GameNight initially offers over 25 multiplayer party games, including adaptations of classic titles such as Angry Birds, Exploding Kittens, and Ticket to Ride, as well as original content developed by Amazon, such as Courtroom Chaos featuring a cameo by American rapper Snoop Dogg. Similar to the Jackbox party games, players can launch games through the Luna platform and enter by scanning a QR code with their smartphone, which then becomes the controller, reducing reliance on traditional gaming devices. This design is clearly aimed at attracting new players unfamiliar with game controllers, or those seeking casual entertainment during family or friend gatherings. In addition to GameNight, Amazon is also simultaneously enhancing Luna's game library, adding titles such as *Indiana Jones and the Great Circle*, *Kingdom Come: Deliverance II*, and *Dave the Diver*.

Amazon is accelerating its expansion in the U.S. fresh food retail market, aiming to challenge Walmart, which has long held the top spot. In an earlier announcement, Amazon stated that it currently offers same-day delivery of fresh produce in over 1000 cities across the U.S., and plans to expand to over 2300 cities by the end of this year, with continued expansion expected in 2026. Doug Herrington, CEO of Amazon's Worldwide Stores, emphasized that Amazon continues to innovate to make grocery shopping "simpler, faster, and more affordable" for customers. Regarding shipping, Prime members enjoy free shipping on orders over $25 in most cities; orders below this amount incur a $2.99 ​​charge. Non-Prime members pay $12.99 per order. Currently, Amazon Prime membership costs $14.99 per month or $139 per year. This expansion signifies Amazon's renewed foray into the U.S. food retail market, long dominated by Walmart. According to data released by the Food Marketing Institute (FMI), U.S. consumers spend over $1 trillion annually on groceries at more than 45,000 supermarkets, with online sales currently accounting for less than 20%. Walmart, however, holds over 20% market share in this market, with food sales accounting for 60% of its total U.S. revenue, and has offered same-day delivery for many years. Following this announcement, several fresh food retailers and delivery companies in the U.S. experienced immediate stock price fluctuations. For example, Instacart's stock price plummeted by over 11%, Kroger's by over 4%, DoorDash's by nearly 4%, and Walmart's by nearly 3%. In contrast, Amazon's stock price rose by 1.39%, bringing its current market capitalization to $2.39 trillion. Amazon has been continuously exploring fresh food retail for years, including hiring former Tesco executive Tony Hoggett in 2022 to lead its online and brick-and-mortar retail restructuring. However, Tony Hoggett left the company at the end of 2024, and the business is now being taken over by Whole Foods Market CEO Jason Buechel. According to the latest financial report, Amazon's revenue for the second quarter of fiscal year 2025 reached $1677 billion, a year-on-year increase of 13%, while net profit was $181.64 billion, a 35% increase compared to the same period last year. Online store revenue grew by 10% to $614.85 billion, while brick-and-mortar store revenue grew by 7% to $55.95 billion.

Amazon has announced that it will shut down its free streaming video service, Freevee, this August, with all content being transferred to its paid subscription service, Prime Video. However, Amazon will continue to allow users to watch some shows and movies for free without a subscription, thereby maintaining its market competitiveness through ad-sponsored content. Freevee was originally Amazon's IMDb platform, launched in 2019 as IMDb Freedive, and renamed Freevee in 2022. In addition to offering free and ad-supported content, it partnered with Warner Bros., Sony Pictures, and MGM Studios, and included some content from Prime Video, as well as its own original content such as *Bosch: Legacy* and the reality show *America's Test Kitchen: The Next Generation*. The announcement of merging Freevee into Prime Video, besides reflecting intense competition from global streaming services, is clearly also related to Amazon's recent consolidation and simplification of its business operations. This aims to increase viewership through a single platform, thereby enhancing advertising monetization opportunities. After Freevee's closure, existing users can still watch ad-supported video content through Prime Video. However, Amazon's ad-supported service is currently only available in the United States, so ad-supported content is temporarily unavailable in other countries and regions. In addition to Amazon's continued entry into the market with ad-supported streaming services, Netflix and Disney+ have also launched ad-supported versions in recent years to lower subscription fees, retaining existing users while attracting new ones at lower prices and reducing playback costs through advertising.

Amazon has announced another upgrade to its e-commerce logistics services, planning to expand its "same-day delivery" and "next-day delivery" services to over 4000 small towns, towns, and remote communities by the end of 2026. This expansion is expected to connect tens of millions of potential users, further solidifying its dominant position in the U.S. e-commerce market. This expansion, targeting "everyday essentials," includes groceries, beauty products, cleaning supplies, and pet food. Prime members who spend $25 or more in a single order will enjoy free same-day delivery. Amazon stated that nearly 1000 towns are already included in this delivery program, with about 90% of the popular items falling into the daily necessities category, demonstrating the rapidly growing potential of this service in non-metropolitan areas. To support this logistics upgrade, Amazon has invested $4 billion to expand its warehousing facilities and hire more delivery drivers. It has also implemented an AI-powered predictive system to accurately assess popular local products. For example, in response to migratory birds, Amazon provides bird feed in Iowa to meet birdwatching demand; in Ohio, with its abundant outdoor attractions, it focuses on travel backpacks; and even in sunny Maryland, it offers after-sun care products. This reflects its localized supply strategy and tailored product offerings. On the other hand, Amazon is transforming its original distribution centers into "hybrid logistics hubs," allowing goods to reach recipients faster, thereby shortening delivery times and improving overall efficiency. This measure is expected to put considerable pressure on local brick-and-mortar retailers. While Amazon emphasizes that this adjustment will help more small and medium-sized enterprises expand their sales opportunities, some believe it will squeeze the survival space of local businesses, especially given rising rents and operating costs. Same-day delivery services offered by large e-commerce platforms like Amazon will attract more people to order daily necessities online, thus reducing the proportion of purchases made through physical stores.

Amazon has announced a $40 billion investment in rural areas of the United States to expand its local delivery network, enabling faster and more efficient delivery to remote areas. This is expected to create over 10 new jobs and stimulate local industry development. Amazon stated that delivering goods to customers is the "last mile" of e-commerce services, and its Prime membership service has already provided record-breaking delivery speeds. Compared to approximately 100 million items delivered through Prime's free shipping service when it was launched in 2005, over 3 million items are now delivered free of charge through Prime. Amazon's delivery network also includes a Delivery Service Partner (DSP) program to support small-scale delivery companies, a partnership program called Amazon Flex that allows individuals to use their own vehicles for delivery and earn extra income, and a community parcel delivery service called Hub Delivery that partners with local businesses to create more local jobs and business partnerships. Therefore, Amazon announced a $40 billion investment to expand its rural delivery network, enabling faster delivery to less densely populated rural areas across the United States. This initiative also anticipates creating over 10 jobs and driver partnerships. Following this investment, Amazon expects its delivery network to cover over 13000 delivery zones, encompassing approximately 120 million square miles (about 310.8 square kilometers, almost equivalent to the combined area of ​​California, Texas, and Alaska), and capable of delivering over 10 billion items. Furthermore, Amazon emphasizes that while many logistics providers are abandoning rural expansion, Amazon is continuing to expand its rural delivery network, aiming to triple its size by the end of 2026 and cover more remote areas. This will allow users in remote areas to easily order over 3 million items online and receive their orders in about half the time. Amazon estimates that each new delivery station creates an average of 170 jobs, and will further increase employment through its delivery service partner program and Amazon Flex. It also emphasizes that its delivery stations offer hourly wages nearly three times the federal minimum wage and provide benefits such as healthcare to employees from day one. Furthermore, Amazon explains that such investments will also drive economic growth in remote areas and create greater opportunities for collaborative development.

The new Alexa+ digital assistant service, announced in late February for a $19.99 monthly subscription, is now available in the US. However, like Apple's "Apple Intelligence" service, some features announced at the launch event are not yet available. According to a report in The Washington Post, some features of the Alexa+ service will not be available for another two months or longer, such as ordering food delivery through Grubhub or activating a camera to identify the location of family members. Amazon explained that the delay is due to some features not yet meeting Amazon's standards, but features such as "Stories with Alexa" for children are already available. It is currently unclear when more new features will be added to the Alexa+ service, but Amazon is expected to expedite the process. The Alexa+ digital assistant service currently requires a display device to function, so it is only available on smart displays such as Echo Show 8, Echo Show 10, Echo Show 15, and Echo Show 21. The price is $19.99 per month for subscription, while Prime members can use it for free.

Amazon's Prime Wardrobe service, launched in 2018, allows customers to try on clothing for seven days before deciding whether to buy. It has been confirmed that the service will be officially shut down at the end of January this year. Initially offered as an invitation-only trial to Prime members in 2017, the service was later opened to all Prime members. Consumers could select 3-8 clothing or footwear items on the Amazon shopping platform and try them on within seven days, deciding whether to keep them. If a consumer decided not to keep the selected items and returned them, Amazon would not charge any fees. An Amazon spokesperson stated that while the service was currently only available for a limited range of products, more consumers were choosing to use AI-powered methods to select suitable clothing, such as virtual try-ons, personalized size recommendations, and reviews, making it easier for users to find what they needed. Therefore, the decision was made to gradually phase out the original Prime Wardrobe service. However, the service also faced the risk of abuse, such as using the seven-day free trial period to "borrow" clothing and return it before the trial period ended, causing additional logistics costs for Amazon. Therefore, the decision was ultimately made to close the service.

Following its announcement in late September that its Blindsight product, which restores vision for the visually impaired, had received a Breakthrough Designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Neuralink recently announced that its brain-implanted chip and experimental robotic arm control project have been approved for research. This research, named "CONVOY," will allow participants to control an external assistive robotic arm through thought via the N1 implanted chip. Participants in the "PRIME" project, who previously received the implanted chip, can also participate in "CONVOY" related tests. Prior to this, participants in the "PRIME" project were already able to control a computer mouse cursor and perform keyboard input through thought, enabling them to browse the web, watch live streams, post on social media, play online games, and even perform CAD design work. Compared to the "PRIME" project, which primarily involves an implanted chip connecting directly to a computer for digital signal input, the "CONVOY" project aims to allow participants to control external assistive devices such as robotic arms using their thoughts. This would enable paralyzed individuals to use thought-based robotic arms to grasp objects or achieve independent movement using leg assistive devices. We're excited to announce the approval and launch of a new feasibility trial to extend BCI control using the N1 Implant to an investigational assistive robotic...