It feels like yesterday, that the change to Google Product Search was announced. Yet, the story continues to make it into my RSS reading (it will most probably continue). I have been deliberately not speaking about in depth as I want to properly write about it. Anyway, this week was dominated by eCommerce in the Middle East and Africa, Google Product Search and Russian eCommerce. Also IRCE 2012, has been added to events that I would like to attend as content coming from the conference is of excellent quality.
The 10 e-commerce stories that got my attention this past week
The past week has been an interesting one. If I ever win the lottery I have one event that I would like to do. Create an event in which 3 speakers of my choice come and speak to me and a select of individuals. Preferably the event should be held in US to ensure that the speakers make it. The 3 speakers are individuals whom I respect but also would love to have an audience with. So who is the three: Jeff Bezos, Marc Andreessen and Mary Meeker.
Mary Meeker provides some of the best presentations that are publicly available for anyone related to the business of the Internet. There is one other analyst whom I respect, Imran Khan but ever since he joined Credit Suisse it seems he has gone very quiet. (Can someone please make something similar to “Nothing But Net” as that PDF provided information which was relevant for the entire year…). The changes of this event taking place are small but it is a dream…
The 10 e-commerce stories that got my attention this past week
Today, I start something that I have been thinking about for the last few months. As of this Friday (depending on a million things), I am going to be posting a list of 10 stories that got my attention. Yes, I said my attention.
Why Kiva + Payment On Delivery May Equal 1 Day Prime for Amazon
There are two ways to extend a business. Take inventory of what you’re good at and extend out from your skills. Or determine what your customers need and work backward, even if it requires learning new skills.
Jeff Bezos
Amazon buys Kiva. Not surprised, Quidsi a huge customer; its fulfillment was more efficient than Amazon’s. read.bi/FRA8ZG
— Rick Watson (@rickwatson) March 19, 2012
Amazon & Junglee Enter Indian ecommerce
Amazon has launched in India. The way which they have entered the Indian market is of particular interest to me. Junglee.com which is partly owned by Amazon is wait for it, a comparison shopping engine. I initially thought that they would look at acquiring one of the popular ecommerce operators such as Flipkart, Naaptol or Myntra etc but it seems that either the Indian ecommerce valuations is too high or this is phase one of something bigger. More on that in a bit as I think Amazon is both playing offence and defence with Junglee.