Amazon unveils Amazon Coins, Google acquires Channel Intelligence, eCommerce industry news from Turkey, Poland and much more

It is Sunday night (which became Monday Night) and if I look back at the past week then the stories from this week is the calm before the storm. The storm refers to the ongoing battles seen in the ecommerce industry across the globe.

Let me be clear, 2013 is slowly becoming a fight between Amazon and Google in the US. Amazon Coins is to be available from early May and is a genius move from Amazon. Virtual currency is huge business in China and something that been lacking in Amazon’s arsenal.  It seems that the currency is to drive usage on the Kindle Fire and also closes the loop in terms of transactions that are to be done on the Amazon appstore. This announcement highlights the fact that apps and ebooks are now a bigger focus for the Seattle behemoth.

The other big story this past week is the Channel Intelligence acquisition by Google. Google is spending millions of dollars on ecommerce and acquisitions to bolster its Google Shopping product. Channel Intelligence is a commerce enabler that has some of the biggest retailers (Target, Best Buy and Staples) in the US as clients. The acquisition poses some interesting questions. One, does all the current clients stay with Channel Intelligence after the Google acquisition? What is the gain from the acquisition for Google Shopping? Also does Channel Intelligence become an autonomous business inside Google? The one thing that this acquisition highlights for me is that data is an important part of Google strategy at regaining market share back from Amazon in ecommerce.

The stories that caught my attention last week:

1. Jabong Goes International With Jabongworld.com – Jabong has done a lot of interesting ecommerce plays in a very short time. 3rd party logistics, 3rd party customer service and now international shopping. Is it a sign that the business is under pressure to perform?
2. Amazon Is Quickly Becoming The Comparison Shopping Engine Leader – Is Amazon slowly killing the comparison shopping industry or is Google doing it?  Amazon has their marketplace model plus Amazon product ads which is both getting eyeballs and conversions. Google has also placed more emphasis on Google shopping and is increasingly becoming more focused on ecommerce. Is it one business or a combination of both that is putting pressure on the Comparison Shopping Industry?
3. Survivor’s Gilt: amid losses and departures, luxury good deal sites struggle to stay alive – The Gilt Groupe is an interesting storyline about the challenges that the flash sale business face. Does the company IPO? or will the new business model work?
4. Gmarket founder: E-commerce will grow rapidly in SEA – Gmarket is one of the market leaders in South Korea, so when of their founders speaks at an event I take note. South East Asia is a hot market for ecommerce investors and the mere fact that Ku Young Bae says there is room for growth I think it confirms that the region is going to be a battleground for quite some time.
5. Poland’s austerity-driven e-commerce boom – Europe is at the moment in financial difficulty and seems like it is going to be some time before the situation gets better. I wonder if the global economic issues is going to be a contributing factor for more ecommerce adoption across the globe. Poland and the Czech Republic is the fastest growing ecommerce markets in Europe but how much of the growth can be attributed to the financial issues facing Europe?
6. Turks spent $17.4 bln in online shopping – Turks love online shopping as the number of online credit card transactions increased by 34 percent in 2012 over the previous year. Does Turkey qualify as a market which is no longer attractive for investors such as China?
7. Amazon unpacked – Sarah O’Connor writes a fascinating article about the effects of a Amazon distribution centre has on a British town Rugeley, Staffordshire.
8. eBay is back! – JP Mangalindan wrote a great post on the transformation seen at eBay. Is it just me or has John Donahoe been able to do the impossible, turn eBay around?
9. Is this Kozmo 2.0? Postmates brings its ‘Get It Now’ courier service to Seattle – Kozmo brings back painful memories for some. Postmates is agressively trying to enter the grocery delivery business, one that even Amazon is battling to get 100% right.
10. 3 Cogent Competitive Strategies For Retailers Based On Barnes & Noble’s Recent Quickstep – Backwards – Barnes and Noble has already seen the Amazon effect. Borders ended up with little to show for their history of selling books in the US. Upstream Commerce has 3 strategies that they think that Barnes and Noble need to implement to ensure survival.

Bonus Links:

• eBay CEO John Donahoe Wants Employees To Stop Shopping On Amazon– A typical Business Insider article that is thin on facts. However, competitor analysis is a very important skill for any executive to have. I am playing devils advocate but why are all the eBay staff shopping at Amazon or any other competitor?
• Look & Listen shutters Web store – This post hits close to home and I wonder whether this is the last time we will see Look and Listen online and having ecommerce functionality?
• Amazon The Hidden Empire Update 2013 (SlideShare) – Fabernovel creates some of the most unbelievable presentations. This updated Amazon presentation is a must read.
• Mobile shopping is much more than shopping – A brief summary on some of the core strategic implications mobile shopping has for businesses. Point 2 “Mobile is going to have profound implications for data management” is a challenge that requires excellent planning, UI/UX and ensuring that the customer has all the relevant information at his/her disposal.
• Pinterest’s Retail Problem – Pinterest I believe will be facing more and more challenges to remain a traffic generator for ecommerce businesses. Broken links etc are all things that users don’t see but as business who uses the platform I can see negative growth happening.
• Diapers.com Is First Amazon-Owned Quidsi Site To Arrive On iPad – The Quidsi acquisition by Amazon flew below the radar but in my mind it should scare all of Amazon’s competitors. Huge selection of merchandise, not Branded as Amazon and the businesses are all at the cutting edge of creating excellent experiences. Diapers.com is the first Quidsi business to get an iPad app, the others are to follow soon.
• Ecommerce Sales Topped $1 Trillion for First Time in 2012 – This is big news for me and I think we will see this happening more and more. Why? Emerging markets are full of customers who have not had the ability to buy online.
• Fake reviews will be removed, warns Google – The review industry is under pressure and Google has declared war in poor quality reviews. When last have you had your team check your review content?
• Why Wayfair Works When Most E-Commerce Fails– Wayfair is a company that does things differently. Wayfair places a lot of importance (as any ecommerce company should) on search. Keeping mobile customer acquisition cost low is also something that they are working on..
• Will Software Eliminate Physical Retail? Not Quite. – This is the counter argument to Marc Andreessen conversation with Sarah Lacy. Reid Hoffman is someone I respect, so this opinion carries in my opinion a lot of weight. A must read for any ecommerce executive.