July 14, 2023
eCommerce
- AWS creates AI team, Next Generation Developer Experience (LINK). AMZN has formed an AI team within AWS, Next Generation Developer Experience, that will focus on helping clients use generative AI within the platform. In an internal meeting, AWS CEO Adam Selipsky reportedly commented that the company is continuing to recruit in priority areas, including in AI.
- AMZN sees highest-ever sales on first day of Prime Day (LINK). AMZN reported that on the first day of Prime Day, the company had its largest ever sales day. During the Prime Day sales event, customers purchased over 375m items, up from 300m a year ago, making it the largest Prime Day so far. Third party data from Adobe showed that during the promotion, US online spend increased 6.1% y/y to $12.7b.
- AMZN disagrees with Digital Services Act label (LINK). AMZN is opposing its label as a “Very Large Online Platform” as designated by the Digital Services Act, claiming that it does not meet the requirements. The European Commission stated that it will stand up for its ruling as AMZN as a VLOP in court.
- Ant Group announces up to $6b in share buybacks (LINK). Ant Group announced that it is willing to buy back up to $6b of shares from investors, valuing the company at $78.5b. The news comes after the company was fined $984m by Chinese regulators.
- DASH appoints Ashley Still to board (LINK). DASH named Ashley Still to its board of directors this week. Ms. Still currently serves as the SVP & GM of Adobe Creative Cloud and previously held various other roles at Adobe.
- EBAY acquires Certilogo (LINK). EBAY announced its acquisition of Certilogo, an AI-powered platform that helps customers authenticate products and brands manage their clothing through digital ID technology.
- EBAY adds new Vault submission process for trading cards (LINK). EBAY now allows collectors to submit graded trading cards worth at least $250 directly to its vault, even if they were not purchased on EBAY. As a reminder, last year EBAY opened its vault, a physical storage location where customers can store trading cards and facilitate instant sales, in which the ownership of an item can be transferred without physically changing hands.
- JD reveals LLM, ChatRhino (LINK). JD revealed its LLM, ChatRhino, for enterprise clients across various industries, including retail and logistics. The service will provide targeted sector solutions and will be commercially available in early 2024.
- SHOP to release AI powered assistant (LINK). SHOP announced that it is planning to launch an AI powered assistant, Sidekick, to help answer merchants’ questions. The new feature will also assist sellers in storefront operations, such as implementing discounts across items.