Amazon innovation on display for Prime Day

Author

Stephen Babcock
July 13, 2022

The daily current header

We’re halfway through Prime Day, which concludes at the end of July 13. Along with lots of deals, day one was a chance to get a look at how Amazon is transforming the shopping experience. Its recently-released features for voice, livestreaming and embedding Prime in sites beyond Amazon.com are all on display.

Prime Day’s famed halo effect is a bit more subtle this year. For off-Amazon retailers, the focus of discounts is more on moving excess inventory that was overbought amid supply chain struggles, and doesn’t match with the post-lockdown period. Still, a boost for all is expected this week, given the deal-seeking behavior now programmed into American life around this time. – Modern Retail

CVS has a new leader overseeing data, digital and tech, while Hostess promotes its first chief sustainability officer. Plus, Victoria’s Secret is bringing on a former Amazon Prime exec in a big management shakeup, and Instacart promoted a group of C-level leaders. Check out the latest hiring news around ecommerce.

With the latest inflation data for the overall economy set to be released this morning, Adobe Analytics offered a look at the price picture for ecommerce in June on Tuesday. Drops in apparel and electronics helped power a modest .3% year-over-year increase in the Digital Price Index, but a 12% jump in grocery shows that it’s still a time of spikes.

Package and grocery delivery vans are set to go electric through Walmart’s deal with another Bentonville, Arkansas-based company. With Canoo’s vehicles expected to be on the road by 2023, Walmart plans to use the Dallas Fort Worth area as a testing ground. –TechCrunch

Tweet of the Day 🐦

Were you forwarded this email by a friend or colleague?