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Amazon Just Had Its Biggest Sales Day Ever
July 13, 2016 at 11:32 am

So much for concerns that the second Prime Day event didn't live up to Amazon's expectations. The online retailer said Wednesday that the self-created holiday was its biggest sales day ever, with worldwide orders rising more than 60 percent compared with the previous Prime Day. In the U.S., orders rose by more than 50 percent.…

Audible Unveils Short Form Audio Streaming Service
July 7, 2016 at 1:59 pm

In a move that further expands Audible Inc.’s reach beyond the audiobook market, the Amazon subsidiary has unveiled an on-demand, unlimited listening service called Channels. The ad-free service, which is free to Audible subscribers (and was rolled out to some members in beta this spring), features curated short-form audio. Non-subscribers can access the content for…

Amazon Bookstore & Café to Launch in NYC
July 7, 2016 at 1:53 pm

Amazon is planning to open a brick-and-mortar bookstore and cafe in Manhattan as it pushes deeper into a market it has come to dominate, The Post has learned. Amazon Books is slated to open in Hudson Yards, the massive retail, commercial and residential space developed by Related Cos. and Oxford Properties Group, sources tell The…

Amazon Is Quietly Eliminating List Prices
July 5, 2016 at 12:37 pm

In a major shift for online commerce, Amazon is quietly changing how it entices people to buy. The retailer built a reputation and hit $100 billion in annual revenue by offering deals. The first thing a potential customer saw was a bargain: how much an item was reduced from its list price. Now, in many…

Amazon Director Says Self-Publishing Is Becoming Increasingly Sophisticated & Mature
July 1, 2016 at 12:51 pm

“For me as a First Amendment attorney, this movement, this empowerment, this enfranchising of storytelling—whether it’s in the States or in India or in Europe—the ability for anybody to tell any story they want is such a remarkable goal, and for most of our lives, really, it’s been only an aspirational goal.” Jon Fine, one of…

Amazon Unveils Online Education Service for Teachers
June 28, 2016 at 1:45 pm

Just ahead of the back-to-school season, Amazon plans to make a major foray into the education technology market for primary and secondary schools, a territory that Apple, Google and Microsoft have heavily staked out. Monday morning, Amazon said that it would introduce an online marketplace with tens of thousands of free lesson plans, worksheets and…

If Barnes & Noble Goes Out of Business, the Entire Book Industry Suffers
June 20, 2016 at 12:02 pm

Even by the standards of the ailing book publishing industry, the past year has been a bad one for Barnes & Noble. After the company spun off its profitable college textbook division, its stock plunged nearly 40 percent. Its long-term debt tripled, to $192 million, and its cash reserves dwindled. Leonard Riggio, who turned the…

Amazon's Third Bookstore Will Be in Portland
June 16, 2016 at 12:52 pm

Amazon plans to open a third bricks and mortar bookstore, called Amazon Books, in Portland, Ore., the company has confirmed to Fortune. “We are excited to be bringing Amazon Books to Washington Square, and we are currently hiring store managers and associates. Stay tuned for additional details down the road.”

Has the Tide Gone Out for Ebooks in Mexico?
June 9, 2016 at 2:11 pm

In an ongoing push to promote ebooks in Mexico, the third annual Ink International Digital Novel Prize launched its call for submissions this month. The program is organized by Mexican digital publisher Editorial Ink and the Autonomous Metropolitan University (UAM). The jury includes Mexican writers Ana Clavel and Raúl Avilés Fabila, and Daniel Ferreira of Colombia. The winner sees his or…

Will Recommendation Algorithms Always Be Trumped by the Personal Touch?
May 31, 2016 at 1:59 pm

Back in the early days, Amazon recommendations were decided by human beings. The company went on a hiring spree, bringing in editors to manage the site. Typically these were not the kind of West Coast engineers that typified the company; rather they were Manhattanites, steeped in the world of books and culture. Well-read, opinionated, they…