Don’t Build the Wrong Kind of AI BusinessRead More

A worker delivers packages on Amazon Prime Day in New York. Photo: Bloomberg.

Amazon Live Shopping Melts in the Spotlight; Poop Emoji in Court

By  |  July 13, 2022 3:33 PM PDT
Photo: A worker delivers packages on Amazon Prime Day in New York. Photo: Bloomberg.

Happy Day Two of Prime Day, the mid-year firesale of products on Amazon.com where (nearly) everything must go! I hope you were able to pick up a little smartspeaker on sale, or your annual haul of cheap underwear and socks. This year’s sales event has taken on added importance as Amazon tries to shake off its witch’s brew of problems—high inflation, supply chain holdups, over-expansion—and show investors that its retail business can still deliver when it counts. 

Prime Day 2022 has also been a chance for Amazon to show off its progress with the company’s live shopping feature. Dubbed Amazon Live, the company has spent the last couple of years building a QVC-style shopping channel, using paid influencers to sell products. 

Get access to exclusive coverage
Read deeply reported stories from the largest newsroom in tech.
Latest Articles
 
The Briefing markets startups
Forget the IPO Window. Watch for More M&A
Photo by Bloomberg
Here’s some food for thought about initial public offerings. Yesterday I asked Brex co-CEO Henrique Dubugras when he thought the IPO window would open. His fintech company, after all, is one of many that could be beating down that door. Having raised $1.5 billion in funding, Dubugras said the company has a plan to break even off its existing funding. When I ask the IPO question, I usually...
Latest Briefs
 
China’s Last-Mile-Delivery Giant Files for Hong Kong IPO
Judge Sides Against Google on Claims It Deleted Records
Google Strikes Deal With Replit in Challenge to Microsoft
Stay in the know
Receive a summary of the day's top tech news—distilled into one email.
Access on the go
View stories on our mobile app and tune into our weekly podcast.
Join live video Q&A’s
Deep-dive into topics like startups and autonomous vehicles with our top reporters and other executives.
Enjoy a clutter-free experience
Read without any banner ads.
Bill Gurley in 2019. Photo by Bloomberg
Exclusive
Good Eggs Cuts Its Valuation 94% in Lifeline Financing as More Startups Get Desperate
As more startups struggle to raise money from venture capitalists and approach bankruptcy, they are going to extreme lengths to stay afloat.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk last August. Photo by Bloomberg
Exclusive startups electric vehicles
SpaceX Plans New Funding With Backing From Saudi, UAE Investors
A subsidiary of Saudi Arabia’s investment fund and an Abu Dhabi investment firm are planning to invest in a multibillion-dollar funding round for SpaceX, Elon Musk’s rocket company, according to people familiar with the investor discussions.
Block chairman and co founder Jack Dorsey. Photo by Getty
markets
Fintech’s Big Wakeup Call
Fintechs were supposed to transform banking by making it dead simple for users to open savings accounts or pay their bills.
Art by Clark Miller.
Opinion startups
Don’t Build the Wrong Kind of AI Business
At a catch-up coffee a few weeks ago, a founder friend asked me, “What AI thing should we build?” It was the third time that week a founder had asked me the same question.
Art by Clark Miller.
Market Research e-commerce culture
The Skin-Tech Devices Helping Execs Beautify in a Hurry
I’m always 29 at heart,” said Liyia Wu, CEO of ShopShops, a livestream shopping app for fashion, beauty and lifestyle products.
Art by Clark Miller
Surreal Estate real estate
Silicon Valley’s Realtors, Like Its Bankers, Are Having a Tough Month
In early March, Ken DeLeon, founder of DeLeon Realty, a Silicon Valley–based brokerage that sold more than $1 billion in homes in 2021, called one of his venture capitalist clients to discuss the purchase of a $20 million–plus megamansion.