This is a list of products and services offered by American corporation
Amazon
Amazon most often refers to:
* Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology
* Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin
* Amazon River, in South America
* Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...
.
Retail goods
Amazon product lines include (
book
A book is a medium for recording information in the form of writing or images, typically composed of many pages (made of papyrus, parchment, vellum, or paper) bound together and protected by a cover. The technical term for this physical arr ...
s, DVDs, music CDs,
videotapes
Videotape is magnetic tape used for storing video and usually sound in addition. Information stored can be in the form of either an analog or digital signal. Videotape is used in both video tape recorders (VTRs) and, more commonly, videocassette ...
, and software), apparel, baby products,
consumer electronics
Consumer electronics or home electronics are electronic (analog or digital) equipment intended for everyday use, typically in private homes. Consumer electronics include devices used for entertainment, communications and recreation. Usually r ...
,
beauty products
Cosmetics are constituted mixtures of chemical compounds derived from either natural sources, or synthetically created ones. Cosmetics have various purposes. Those designed for personal care and skin care can be used to cleanse or protect ...
, gourmet food, groceries, health and personal-care items, industrial and scientific supplies, kitchen items,
jewelry
Jewellery ( UK) or jewelry (U.S.) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment, such as brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the clothes. From a western ...
and watches, lawn and garden items, musical instruments,
sporting goods
Sports equipment, sporting equipment, also called sporting goods, are the tools, materials, apparel, and gear used to compete in a sport and varies depending on the sport. The equipment ranges from balls, nets, and protective gear like helmets. ...
, tools, automotive items and toys/games.
The company launched amazon.com Auctions, a web auctions service, in March 1999. However, it failed to chip away at the large market share of the industry pioneer,
eBay
eBay Inc. ( ) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that facilitates consumer-to-consumer and business-to-consumer sales through its website. eBay was founded by Pierre Omidyar in 1995 and became a ...
. Later, the company launched a fixed-price
marketplace
A marketplace or market place is a location where people regularly gather for the purchase and sale of provisions, livestock, and other goods. In different parts of the world, a marketplace may be described as a '' souk'' (from the Arabic), ' ...
business, zShops, in September 1999, and the now defunct partnership with
Sotheby's
Sotheby's () is a British-founded American multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, and ...
, called ''Sothebys.amazon.com'', in November. Auctions and zShops evolved into
Amazon Marketplace
Amazon Marketplace is an e-commerce platform owned and operated by Amazon that enables third-party sellers to sell new or used products on a fixed-price online marketplace alongside Amazon's regular offerings. Using Amazon Marketplace, third-party ...
, a service launched in November 2000 that let customers sell used books, CDs, DVDs, and other products alongside new items. , Amazon Marketplace is the largest of its kind, followed by similar marketplaces from
Sears
Sears, Roebuck and Co. ( ), commonly known as Sears, is an American chain of department stores founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosenwald, with what began a ...
,
Rakuten
() is a Japanese technology conglomerate based in Tokyo, founded by Hiroshi Mikitani in 1997. Centered around Rakuten Ichiba, its businesses include financial services utilizing financial technology, as well as digital content and communicati ...
, and
Newegg
Newegg Commerce, Inc. is an American online retailer of items including computer hardware and consumer electronics. It is based in City of Industry, California. It is majority-owned by Liaison Interactive, a multinational technology company.
Hi ...
.
In August 2007, Amazon announced
AmazonFresh
Amazon Fresh is a subsidiary of the American e-commerce company Amazon in Seattle, Washington. It is a grocery retailer with physical stores and delivery services in most major U.S. cities, as well as some international cities, such as Berlin, Ha ...
, a grocery service offering
perishable
Decomposition or rot is the process by which dead organic substances are broken down into simpler organic or inorganic matter such as carbon dioxide, water, simple sugars and mineral salts. The process is a part of the nutrient cycle and is e ...
and
nonperishable food
Food preservation includes processes that make food more resistant to microorganism growth and slow the oxidation of fats. This slows down the decomposition and rancidification process. Food preservation may also include processes that inhibit v ...
s. Customers could have orders delivered to their homes at dawn or during a specified daytime window. Delivery was initially restricted to residents of
Mercer Island, Washington
Mercer Island is a city in King County, Washington, United States, located on an island of the same name in the southern portion of Lake Washington. Mercer Island is in the Seattle metropolitan area, with Seattle to its west and Bellevue to i ...
, and was later expanded to several
ZIP codes in Seattle proper.
[Arrington, Michael (August 1, 2007)]
"Remember Webvan? So Does Amazon"
. TechCrunch
TechCrunch is an American online newspaper focusing on high tech and startup companies. It was founded in June 2005 by Archimedes Ventures, led by partners Michael Arrington and Keith Teare.
In 2010, AOL acquired the company for approximately ...
. AmazonFresh also operated pick-up locations in the suburbs of
Bellevue Bellevue means "beautiful view" in French. It may refer to:
Placenames
Australia
* Bellevue, Western Australia
* Bellevue Hill, New South Wales
* Bellevue, Queensland
* Bellevue, Glebe, an historic house in Sydney, New South Wales
Canada ...
and
Kirkland from summer 2007 through early 2008.
In 2012, Amazon announced the launch of Vine.com for buying green products, including groceries, household items, and apparel.
It is part of
Quidsi
Diapers.com was an online specialty retailer for baby products from 2005 to 2017. It was founded by Marc Lore and Vinit Bharara in Montclair, New Jersey. Initially named 1800DIAPERS, the company set out delivering consumables, such as diapers, ...
, the company that Amazon bought in 2010 that also runs the sites
Diapers.com (baby), Wag.com (pets), and YoYo.com (toys).
Amazon also owns other e-commerce sites like Shopbop.com,
Woot.com, and
Zappos.com
Zappos.com is an American online shoe and clothing retailer based in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. The company was founded in 1999 by Nick Swinmurn and launched under the domain name Shoesite.com. In July 2009, Amazon acquired Zappos in an ...
.
Amazon's Subscribe & Save program offers a discounted price on an item (usually sold in bulk), free shipping on every Subscribe & Save shipment, and automatic shipment of the item every one, two, three, or six months.
In 2013, Amazon launched its site in India, Amazon.in. It started with electronic goods. In July 2014, Amazon said it would invest $2 billion (Rs 12,000 crore) in India to expand business, after its largest Indian rival Flipkart announced $1 billion in funding.
In 2014, Amazon sold 63% of all books bought online and 40% of all books sold overall.
In 2015, a study by
Survata
Upwave, formerly Survata, is a marketing analytics company based in San Francisco, California. It is the leading Analytics Platform that provides software and data to plan, measure and optimize brand marketing. Upwave rebranded from Survata in Sept ...
found that 44% of respondents searching for products went directly to Amazon.com.
On September 30, 2015, Amazon announced the launch of Merch by Amazon, a service intended to help content creators generate revenue through the sale of branded T-shirts and other merchandise items such as long sleeve shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies and
PopSockets
PopSockets LLC is a privately owned consumer-electronics accessory company that produces removable grips for smartphones. The company was founded in 2012 by David Barnett, who was at the time a philosophy professor.
Overview
In 2014, the first y ...
grips, designed by creators and sold, produced and fulfilled by Amazon. Since the summer of 2018, the service has also been available on the European marketplaces in Germany and Great Britain.
In October 2015, Amazon announced a new handmade marketplace called Handmade By Amazon, already having 5,000 sellers from 60 countries and 80,000 items for sale. The platform is designed for artisans to sell their good directly to the public, similar to the platform
Etsy
Etsy, Inc. is an American e-commerce company focused on handmade or vintage items and craft supplies. These items fall under a wide range of categories, including jewelry, bags, clothing, home décor and furniture, toys, art, as well as craft su ...
.
In September 2020, Amazon launched Luxury Stores on its mobile app, where
Oscar de la Renta
Óscar Arístides Renta Fiallo (22 July 1932 – 20 October 2014), known professionally as Oscar de la Renta, was a Dominican fashion designer. Born in Santo Domingo, he was trained by Cristóbal Balenciaga and Antonio del Castillo. De la Renta ...
become the first and only label to partner with the firm.
Amazon Prime
![Amazon Prime Logo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e3/Amazon_Prime_Logo.svg)
In 2005, Amazon announced the creation of Amazon Prime, a membership offering free two-day shipping within the contiguous United States on all eligible purchases for a flat annual fee of $79 (),
as well as discounted one-day shipping rates. Amazon launched the program in Germany, Japan, and the United Kingdom in 2007; in France (as "Amazon Premium") in 2008, in Italy in 2011, in Canada in 2013,
and in India on July 26, 2016.
Amazon Prime membership in Germany, the United Kingdom, Canada, India, and the United States also provides
Amazon Video
Amazon Prime Video, also known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming and rental service of Amazon offered as a standalone service or as part of Amazon's Prime subscription. The service pri ...
,
the instant streaming of selected movies and TV shows at no additional cost. In November 2011, it was announced that Prime members have access to the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library, which allows users to borrow certain popular Kindle e-books for free reading on Kindle hardware, up to one book a month, with no due date.
In March 2014, Amazon announced an increase in the annual membership fee for Amazon Prime, from $79 to $99 for customers in the United States.
Shortly after this change, Amazon announced Prime Music, a service in which members can get unlimited, ad-free streaming of over a million songs and access to curated playlists. In November 2014, Amazon added Prime Photos, which allows unlimited photo storage in the users'
Amazon Drive
Amazon Drive, formerly known as Amazon Cloud Drive, was a cloud storage application managed by Amazon. The service offers secure cloud storage, file backup, file sharing, and Photo printing. Using an Amazon account, the files and folders can be tr ...
. Amazon also began offering free same-day delivery to Prime members in 14 United States metropolitan areas in May 2015.
On July 15, 2015, to commemorate its 20th birthday, Amazon celebrated "Amazon Prime Day", which Amazon announced would feature deals for prime members that rivaled those on
Black Friday.
In January 2016, Amazon Prime reached 54 million members according to a report from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners.
On September 30, 2016, Amazon subsidiary
Twitch
Twitch may refer to:
Biology
* Muscle contraction
** Convulsion, rapid and repeated muscle contraction and relaxation
** Fasciculation, a small, local, involuntary muscle contraction
** Myoclonic twitch, a jerk usually caused by sudden muscle con ...
announced premium features that are exclusive to users who have an active Amazon Prime subscription (''Twitch Prime''), including advertising-free access to the service, and monthly offers of video games and add-on content.
In December 2016, Amazon began offering the option of monthly payment for Prime memberships.
Consumer electronics
![Kindle Fire web browser 05 2012 1430](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/01/Kindle_Fire_web_browser_05_2012_1430.JPG)
In November 2007, Amazon launched the
Kindle, an
e-reader
An e-reader, also called an e-book reader or e-book device, is a mobile electronic device that is designed primarily for the purpose of reading digital e-books and periodicals.
Any device that can display text on a screen may act as an e-read ...
which downloads content over "
Whispernet", via
Sprint's EV-DO
Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO, EVDO, etc.) is a telecommunications standard for the wireless transmission of data through radio signals, typically for broadband Internet access. EV-DO is an evolution of the CDMA2000 (IS-2000) standard which su ...
wireless network. The screen uses
E Ink
E Ink (electronic ink) is a brand of electronic paper (e-paper) display technology commercialized by the E Ink Corporation, which was co-founded in 1997 by MIT undergraduates JD Albert and Barrett Comiskey, MIT Media Lab professor Joseph Jacobson ...
technology to reduce
battery
Battery most often refers to:
* Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power
* Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact
Battery may also refer to:
Energy source
*Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...
consumption and to provide a more legible display. As of July 2014, there are over 2.7 million e-books available for purchase at the
Kindle Store
The Kindle Store is an Internet, online e-book e-commerce store operated by Amazon (company), Amazon as part of its retail website and can be accessed from any Amazon Kindle, Fire HD, Fire tablet or Kindle mobile app. At the launch of the Kindl ...
. Starting in 2012 Amazon began offering differing models within generations of its readers starting with the Paperwhite, Voyage, and most recently the Oasis 2 released in October 2017.
In September 2011, Amazon announced its entry into the
tablet computer
A tablet computer, commonly shortened to tablet, is a mobile device, typically with a mobile operating system and touchscreen display processing circuitry, and a rechargeable battery in a single, thin and flat package. Tablets, being comput ...
market by introducing the
Kindle Fire
The Amazon Fire, formerly called the Kindle Fire, is a line of tablet computers developed by Amazon. Built with Quanta Computer, the Kindle Fire was first released in November 2011, featuring a color 7-inch multi-touch display with IPS techn ...
, which runs a customized
fork
In cutlery or kitchenware, a fork (from la, furca 'pitchfork') is a utensil, now usually made of metal, whose long handle terminates in a head that branches into several narrow and often slightly curved tines with which one can spear foods ei ...
of the
Android operating system. The low pricing of Fire (US$199) was widely perceived as a strategy backed by Amazon's revenue from its content sales, to be stimulated by access to Fire tablets.
In September 2012, Amazon unveiled the second generation tablet, called the
Kindle Fire HD
The Fire HD, also known as Kindle Fire HD, is a member of the Amazon Fire family of tablet computers. Fire HD refers to Amazon Fire family tablets with HD resolution. The ten generation Fire HD subfamily consists of: 7" and 8.9" (2012 models), 7" ...
. On September 25, 2013, Amazon.com unveiled its third generation tablet, called the
Kindle Fire HDX
The Fire HDX, formerly named Kindle Fire HDX, was a high-end model in Amazon Fire line of tablet computers. It was announced on September 25, 2013 and was available in two models, 7 inch and 8.9 inch. The 7 inch WiFi model was rele ...
.
In April 2014, Amazon announced its
Amazon Fire TV
Amazon Fire TV (stylized as amazon fireTV) is a line of digital media players and microconsoles developed by Amazon. The devices are small network appliances that deliver digital audio and video content streamed via the Internet to a connecte ...
set-top box system, a device targeted to compete with such systems like
Apple TV
An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...
or
Google
Google LLC () is an American multinational technology company focusing on search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and consumer electronics. ...
's
Chromecast
Chromecast is a line of digital media players developed by Google. The devices, designed as small dongles, can play Internet-streamed audio-visual content on a high-definition television or home audio system. The user can control playback with ...
device. The Amazon set-top box allows for streaming videos from sites like Amazon's own streaming service as well as others such as
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
or
Hulu
Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television serie ...
. The device also supports voice search for movies, as well as gaming, which includes special versions of ''
Minecraft
''Minecraft'' is a sandbox game developed by Mojang Studios. The game was created by Markus "Notch" Persson in the Java programming language. Following several early private testing versions, it was first made public in May 2009 before being ...
'', ''
Asphalt 8
''Asphalt 8: Airborne'' is a 2013 racing video game, developed by ExoticBikes and Gameloft Barcelona and published by Gameloft as part of the ''Asphalt'' series. It was released on August 22, 2013, for iOS and Android, November 13 for Wind ...
'', and ''
The Walking Dead''. Amazon announced the
Fire TV Stick
Amazon Fire TV (stylized as amazon fireTV) is a line of digital media players and microconsoles developed by Amazon. The devices are small network appliances that deliver digital audio and video content streamed via the Internet to a connect ...
in October 2014. The device replicates much of the functionality of the Fire TV.
The company entered the
smartphone
A smartphone is a portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, whic ...
market in July 2014 with the release of the
Fire Phone
The Fire Phone was a 3D-enabled smartphone developed by Amazon and manufactured by Foxconn. It was announced on June 18, 2014, and marked Amazon's first foray into the smartphone market, following the success of the Kindle Fire. It was available ...
. Due to poor sales and reception, Amazon discontinued it in August 2015.
In 2014, Amazon sold a
voice-enabled smart
Smart or SMART may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Smart'' (Hey! Say! JUMP album), 2014
* Smart (Hotels.com), former mascot of Hotels.com
* ''Smart'' (Sleeper album), 1995 debut album by Sleeper
* ''SMart'', a children's television ser ...
speaker called
Echo
In audio signal processing and acoustics, an echo is a reflection of sound that arrives at the listener with a delay after the direct sound. The delay is directly proportional to the distance of the reflecting surface from the source and the list ...
. In March 2016, Amazon launched the Amazon Echo Dot, a smaller, more affordable version of the Echo.
Digital content
Amazon's Honor System was launched in 2001 to allow customers to make donations or buy digital content, with Amazon collecting a percentage of the payment plus a fee; however, the service was discontinued in 2008 and replaced by
Amazon Payments
Amazon Pay is an online payments processing service owned by Amazon (company), Amazon. Launched in 2007, Amazon Pay uses the consumer base of Amazon.com and focuses on giving users the option to pay with their Amazon accounts on external merchant ...
.
On September 25, 2007,
Amazon Music
Amazon Music (previously Amazon MP3) is a music streaming platform and online music store operated by Amazon. Launched in public beta on September 25, 2007, in January 2008 it became the first music store to sell music without digital rights man ...
, an online music store, was launched as Amazon MP3 in the US selling downloads exclusively in MP3 format without
digital rights management
Digital rights management (DRM) is the management of legal access to digital content. Various tools or technological protection measures (TPM) such as access control technologies can restrict the use of proprietary hardware and copyrighted works. ...
. (In addition to copyright law, Amazon's
terms of use agreements restrict use of the MP3s, but Amazon does not use
digital rights management (DRM) to enforce those terms.) In addition to independent music labels, Amazon MP3 primarily sells music from the "
Big 4" record labels:
EMI
EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...
,
Universal
Universal is the adjective for universe.
Universal may also refer to:
Companies
* NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company
** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of NBCUniversal
** Universal TV, a ...
,
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...
, and
Sony Music
Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainment ...
. Prior to the launch of this service, Amazon made an investment in
Amie Street
Amie Street was an indie online music store and social network service created in 2006 by Brown University seniors Elliott Breece, Elias Roman, and Joshua Boltuch, in Providence, Rhode Island. The site was notable for its demand-based pricing. The ...
, a music store with a variable pricing model based on
demand
In economics, demand is the quantity of a good that consumers are willing and able to purchase at various prices during a given time. The relationship between price and quantity demand is also called the demand curve. Demand for a specific item ...
. Amazon MP3 was the first online offering of DRM-free music from all four major record companies.
![Kindle 3 by Jleon](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/18/Kindle_3_by_Jleon.jpg)
In November 2007, the
Kindle Store
The Kindle Store is an Internet, online e-book e-commerce store operated by Amazon (company), Amazon as part of its retail website and can be accessed from any Amazon Kindle, Fire HD, Fire tablet or Kindle mobile app. At the launch of the Kindl ...
was launched as an
e-book
An ebook (short for electronic book), also known as an e-book or eBook, is a book publication made available in digital form, consisting of text, images, or both, readable on the flat-panel display of computers or other electronic devices. Alt ...
e-commerce
E-commerce (electronic commerce) is the activity of electronically buying or selling of products on online services or over the Internet. E-commerce draws on technologies such as mobile commerce, electronic funds transfer, supply chain manageme ...
store and can be accessed from any
Amazon Kindle
Amazon Kindle is a series of e-readers designed and marketed by Amazon. Amazon Kindle devices enable users to browse, buy, download, and read e-books, newspapers, magazines and other digital media via wireless networking to the Kindle Store. ...
,
Fire tablet
The Amazon Fire, formerly called the Kindle Fire, is a line of tablet computers developed by Amazon. Built with Quanta Computer, the Kindle Fire was first released in November 2011, featuring a color 7-inch multi-touch display with IPS techn ...
or Kindle
mobile app
A mobile application or app is a computer program or software application designed to run on a mobile device such as a phone, tablet, or watch. Mobile applications often stand in contrast to desktop applications which are designed to run on d ...
. At its launch, the store had more than 88,000 digital titles available.
This number increased to more than 765,000 by August 2011 and as of January 2017 there were over five million e-books available in the U.S.
In January 2008, Amazon began distributing its MP3 service to subsidiary websites worldwide
and, in December 2008, Amazon MP3 was made available in the UK. At the launch of Amazon MP3 in the UK, over 3 million Digital Rights Management (DRM)-free songs were made available to consumers, with prices that started at 59p, compared to Apple's 79p starting price.
In July 2010, Amazon announced that
e-book
An ebook (short for electronic book), also known as an e-book or eBook, is a book publication made available in digital form, consisting of text, images, or both, readable on the flat-panel display of computers or other electronic devices. Alt ...
sales for its Kindle reader outnumbered sales of
hardcover
A hardcover, hard cover, or hardback (also known as hardbound, and sometimes as case-bound) book is one bound with rigid protective covers (typically of binder's board or heavy paperboard covered with buckram or other cloth, heavy paper, or occa ...
books for the first time ever during the second
quarter A quarter is one-fourth, , 25% or 0.25.
Quarter or quarters may refer to:
Places
* Quarter (urban subdivision), a section or area, usually of a town
Placenames
* Quarter, South Lanarkshire, a settlement in Scotland
* Le Quartier, a settlement ...
of 2010. Amazon claims that, during that period, 143 e-books were sold for every 100 hardcover books, including hardcovers for which there is no digital edition; and during late June and early July, sales rose to 180 digital books for every 100 hardcovers.
On March 22, 2011, Amazon launched the
Amazon Appstore
Amazon Appstore is an app store for Android-compatible platforms operated by Amazon.com Services, LLC, a subsidiary of Amazon.
The store is primarily used as the storefront for Amazon's Android-based Fire OS. including Amazon Fire tablets, a ...
for
Android devices and the service was made available in over 200 countries. Also in 2011, Amazon announced that it was releasing a Mac download store to offer dozens of games and hundreds of pieces of software for Apple computers.
In January 2013, Amazon launched AutoRip, a digital music service. The service allows customers to receive a free MP3 copy of select CDs purchased through Amazon. Amazon announced in September 2013 that it would launch Kindle MatchBook in October 2013, a similar service for books allowing customers who buy books from Amazon to acquire an e-book copy for free, or at a discounted price of US$3 or less. MatchBook was launched on the company's site on October 29, 2013.
In October 2016,
Amazon Music
Amazon Music (previously Amazon MP3) is a music streaming platform and online music store operated by Amazon. Launched in public beta on September 25, 2007, in January 2008 it became the first music store to sell music without digital rights man ...
released a music streaming service called "Amazon Music Unlimited". Unlike Prime Music with its somewhat limited catalog, this stand-alone music streaming service has "tens of millions" of songs and is intended to compete with music streaming leaders such as
Spotify
Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active us ...
and
Pandora Radio
Pandora is a subscription-based music streaming service owned by Sirius XM Holdings based in Oakland, California, United States. The service carries a focus on recommendations based on the "Music Genome Project" — a means of classifying indiv ...
. It has a similar price structure, albeit with a $2/month discount for Amazon Prime members.
Amazon Studios
Amazon Studios is a corporate division that develops television shows, movies and comics from online submissions and crowd-sourced feedback.
It was started in late 2010.
Content would be distributed through
Amazon Video
Amazon Prime Video, also known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming and rental service of Amazon offered as a standalone service or as part of Amazon's Prime subscription. The service pri ...
, Amazon's digital video streaming service, and a competitor to services like
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
and
Hulu
Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television serie ...
.
For films,
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
is a partner.
Amazon Games Studios
In October 2008, Amazon acquired game developer and distributor Reflexive Entertainment. This studio continued to develop games for PC, Mac and Kindle eReaders under the brands Reflexive and Amazon Digital Services. Notable titles include Every Word for Kindle Paperwhite and Airport Mania for Kindle Fire, Android, iOS Windows and Mac.
In August 2012, Amazon announced it would be adding a gaming department to its company titled
Amazon Game Studios
Amazon Games (formerly Amazon Game Studios) is an American video game company and division of the online retailing company Amazon that primarily focuses on publishing video games developed within the company's development divisions.
History
I ...
. Amazon stated that it would introduce "innovative, fun and well-crafted games" to consumers. According to the Amazon Game Studios website, the last game that was launched by the department was Amazon's first ever mobile game ''Air Patriots'', released on November 1, 2012.
On February 6, 2014, Amazon confirmed the acquisition of the gaming company Double Helix Games without any indication of the financial terms. The 75 Double Helix employees were to become Amazon employees and their
Orange County, California
Orange County is located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,186,989, making it the third-most-populous county in California, the sixth-most-populous in the United States, a ...
, headquarters was to remain their operating base. Amazon informed the ''TechCrunch'' media company that it "acquired Double Helix as part of our
mazon'songoing commitment to build innovative games for customers" and confirmed that Double Helix's current game roster and other future developments will receive support following the acquisition.
On August 25, 2014, Amazon announced its intent to acquire the video game streaming website
Twitch
Twitch may refer to:
Biology
* Muscle contraction
** Convulsion, rapid and repeated muscle contraction and relaxation
** Fasciculation, a small, local, involuntary muscle contraction
** Myoclonic twitch, a jerk usually caused by sudden muscle con ...
for $970 million.
The acquisition of Twitch is expected to help Amazon drive Internet traffic and potentially boost its Prime membership program, and promote its video ad and Fire TV set top box business.
Amazon Luna
On September 24, 2020, Amazon announced
Amazon Luna
Amazon Luna is a cloud gaming platform developed and operated by Amazon. Luna was announced on September 24, 2020, with early access available to subscribers by invitation beginning on October 20, 2020. In its early access state, Amazon Luna ...
, a cloud gaming service with an initial library of around 100 titles.
Amazon Prime Video
Amazon Prime Video, also known as Prime Video and formerly Amazon Video and Prime Instant Video, is an online video on demand service by Amazon currently available worldwide except Crimea, Russia, China, Iran, Syria and Iraq. In 2015, the Prime Instant Video-exclusive series, ''
Transparent
Transparency, transparence or transparent most often refer to:
* Transparency (optics), the physical property of allowing the transmission of light through a material
They may also refer to:
Literal uses
* Transparency (photography), a still, ...
'' earned two
Golden Globe Awards
The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...
, making it the first series from a streaming service to win a Golden Globe for best series.
Video Direct
On May 10, 2016, yes Amazon launched a Video Service called Amazon Video Direct which allows users to place videos available to rent or own, to view free with ads, or to be bundled together, and offered as an ad-on subscription.
Amazon pays creators 50% of the revenue earned from rental or sale of the videos,
but for ad-supported videos, the makers will get a portion of ad receipts.
Delivery
To reduce costs, Amazon has been shifting away from traditional shipping providers for
last mile delivery
Last mile in supply chain management and transportation planning is the last leg of a journey comprising the movement of people and goods from a transportation hub to a final destination. "Last mile" was adopted from the telecommunications indus ...
. The company owns over 30,000 delivery vans, which are sublet to small companies, who choose to work exclusively with the company under its Amazon Logistics program. In 2019, 100,000 electric delivery vans were ordered by Amazon, to be delivered between 2021 and 2030. For its one and two-hour service,
Prime Now
Prime Now, LLC is a subsidiary of Amazon (company), Amazon that oversees its same-day grocery shopping and delivery service. The name also originated a brand, including a custom app, to distinguish the service from Amazon's other offerings, but b ...
, Amazon distributes routes to
independent contractors
Employment is a relationship between two parties regulating the provision of paid labour services. Usually based on a contract, one party, the employer, which might be a corporation, a not-for-profit organization, a co-operative, or any other ...
through its Flex app. Flex contractors are paid based on how long Amazon believes the delivery route will take, and use their personal vehicle to make these deliveries. Six-wheeled "Scout" sidewalk delivery robots and drones under the
Prime Air moniker are currently under development. Amazon also directly contracts freight shipments between its warehouses by truck and through
Amazon Air
Amazon Air, operating under the callsign Prime Air, is a cargo airline operating exclusively to transport Amazon packages. In 2017, it changed its name from Amazon Prime Air to Amazon Air to differentiate themselves from their autonomous dron ...
.
Groceries
Amazon Fresh
Amazon Fresh is a subsidiary of the American e-commerce company Amazon in Seattle, Washington. It is a grocery retailer with physical stores and delivery services in most major U.S. cities, as well as some international cities, such as Berlin, Ha ...
is a home grocery delivery service first trialed in 2007, and later made available in Boston,
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
,
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, San Francisco, California, San Diego, Brooklyn, New York and Philadelphia. In 2017, Amazon purchased Whole Foods and began selling 365 branded products through Amazon Fresh.
Amazon Prime Pantry is a similar service covering the 48 contiguous United States, allowing the order of up to 45 pounds of dry goods and non-perishable groceries for a flat delivery fee.
Amazon Business
Amazon Supply, launched in 2012, offers industrial and scientific components and Maintenance, Repair and Operations, maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) supplies.
Amazon Supply was developed based on experience operating Smallparts.com, acquired in 2005. On April 28, 2015, the limited-scope service was replaced with Amazon Business. Amazon Business is a service that provides registered business owners with a consolidated platform for buying products and supplies from Amazon. Business users have access to shipping benefits, discounts on eligible products, purchase analytics, and price comparisons from different sellers.
Amazon Drive
Amazon Drive, formerly known as Cloud Drive, is a File hosting service, cloud storage application offering secure cloud storage, file synchronization, file sharing, and Photo printing. Using an Amazon account, the files and folders can be transferred and managed from multiple devices including web browsers, desktop applications, mobiles, and tablets. Amazon Drive also lets their U.S. users order photo prints and photo books using Amazon Prints service.
Amazon Photos is a related service geared toward storing, organizing, and sharing photos and videos. Prime users get free unlimited storage for photos in their original format, including some Raw image format, RAW files. Videos, and photos for non-Prime users, take up space in Drive.
Private labels and exclusive marketing arrangements
In August 2005,
[US Trademark registrations numbered 3216667 and 3266840/3266847, issued March 6, 2007 and July 17, 2007] Amazon began selling products under its own private label, "Pinzon"; the trademark applications indicated that the label would be used for textiles, kitchen utensils, and other household goods.
In March 2007, the company applied to expand the trademark to cover a more diverse list of goods and to register a new design consisting of the "word PINZON in stylized letters with a notched letter "O" which appears at the "one o'clock" position".
[Trademark Electronic Search System](_blank)
from the United States Patent and Trademark Office, USPTO, supplying "PINZON" as the search term Coverage by the trademark grew to include items such as paints, carpets, wallpaper, hair accessories, clothing, footwear, headgear, cleaning products, and jewelry.
In September 2008, Amazon filed to have the name registered. United States Patent and Trademark Office, USPTO has finished its review of the application, but Amazon has yet to receive an official registration for the name.
![Amazon Basics USB cable](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5c/Amazon_Basics_USB_cable.jpg)
AmazonBasics is a private-label product line, mainly consisting of consumer electronics accessories, but also including home and office accessories. The line was launched in 2009.
In 2014, Amazon launched Amazon Elements, a line of domestic products including baby wipes and (formerly) diapers.
In early 2017, Amazon launched a line of snack foods under the name Wickedly Prime. The products, such as tortilla chip, chips and cookies are only available to Amazon Prime members.
An Amazon.com exclusive is a product, that is available exclusively on Amazon.com. Some DVDs are produced by the owner of the film or product, while others are produced by Amazon.com itself. The DVDs produced by Amazon are made using its "CreateSpace" program, in which DVDs are created, upon ordering, using DVD-R technology. The DVDs are then shipped about two days later. Some DVDs (such as the ''Jersey Shore (TV series), Jersey Shore'' Season 1 or ''The Unusuals'' Season 1) are released first as an Amazon.com exclusive for a limited time before being released elsewhere. On May 23, 2011, Amazon.com allowed customers to download Lady Gaga's ''Born This Way (album), Born This Way'' album for 99 cents, resulting in some downloads being delayed, due to an extremely high volume of downloads.
Amazon Web Services
![AWSSummit2013NYC2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7d/AWSSummit2013NYC2.JPG)
Amazon launched Amazon Web Services (AWS) in 2002, which provides programmatic access to latent features on its website.
In November 2005, Amazon began testing Amazon Mechanical Turk, an application programming interface (API) allowing programs to dispatch tasks to human processors.
In March 2006, Amazon launched an online storage service called Amazon S3, Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3). An unlimited number of data objects, from 1 byte to 5 terabytes in size, can be stored in S3 and distributed via Hypertext Transfer Protocol, HTTP or BitTorrent. The service charges monthly fees for data stored and transferred. In 2006, Amazon introduced Amazon Simple Queue Service (Amazon SQS), a distributed queue messaging service, and product wikis (later folded into #2007, Amapedia) and Internet forum, discussion forums for certain products using guidelines that follow standard Internet forum, message board conventions.
Also in 2006, Amazon introduced Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2), a virtual site farm, allowing users to use the Amazon infrastructure to run applications ranging from running simulations to web hosting. In 2008, Amazon improved the service by adding Elastic Block Store (EBS), offering persistent storage for Amazon EC2 instances and Elastic IP addresses, and offering static IP addresses designed for dynamic cloud computing.
Amazon introduced Amazon SimpleDB, SimpleDB, a database system, allowing users of its other infrastructure to utilize a high-reliability, high-performance database system. In 2008, Amazon graduated EC2 from beta to "Generally Available" and added support for the Microsoft Windows platform.
Amazon continues to refine and add services to AWS, adding such services as Scalable DNS service (Amazon Route 53), payment handling, and AWS specific APIs for its Amazon Mechanical Turk, Mechanical Turk service.
In August 2012, Amazon announced Amazon Glacier, a low-cost online file storage web service that provides reliable data archiving, storage, and backup.
AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) was launched in June 2012 and later in November 2012 at AWS' web developer conference in Las Vegas it announced it was targeting large companies as cloud storage clients. It will further cut its S3 prices to customers with long-term contracts in its "Redshift" storage service launching in 2013.
In March 2013 Amazon announced its Mobile Ads API for developers. The new Ads API can be used on apps distributed on any Android platform as long as the app is also available on Amazon's Appstore.
As of December 2014, Amazon Web Services operated 1.4 Million servers across 11 regions and 28 availability zones.
In January 2015, AWS announced its own email and scheduling service dubbed WorkMail.
Amazon Publishing
Amazon Publishing is Amazon's publishing unit launched in May 2009. It is composed of AmazonEncore, AmazonCrossing, Montlake Romance, Thomas & Mercer, 47North, Powered by Amazon, New Harvest, Grand Harbor Press, Two Lions, Skyscape and Waterfall Press.
Launched in 2005, Amazon Shorts offered exclusive short stories and non-fiction pieces from best-selling authors for download from the Kindle Store. By June 2007, the program had over 1,700 pieces and was adding about 50 new pieces per week, but the program was discontinued on June 1, 2010.
AmazonSmile
![AmazonSmileImpact](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/31/AmazonSmileImpact.png)
Amazon also created "channels" to benefit certain causes. In 2004, Amazon allowed customers to donate $6 to $200 to the campaigns of 2004 United States presidential election, 2004 US presidential candidates, providing links that raised $300,000 for the candidates. Amazon has periodically reactivated a Red Cross donation channel after crises such as Hurricane Sandy, Hurricane Katrina, and the 2004 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, earthquake and tsunami in the Indian Ocean. By January 2005, nearly 200,000 people had donated over $15.7 million in the US.
In 2013, Amazon launched a charity initiative called AmazonSmile. It can be accessed by going to , , or when normally shopping, and allows Amazon to donate 0.5% of the sale price of eligible items to the customer's selected charity as its Sponsor (commercial), sponsor.
Amazon Local
Amazon Local was a Deal of the day, daily deal service launched in June 2011 in Boise, Idaho. , Amazon Local offers daily deals to over 100 regions in 36 U.S. states. Amazon Local also acts as a deal aggregator; some of the deals are actually offered through LivingSocial, a firm in which Amazon has heavily invested.
It was launched gradually in the United Kingdom on August 29, 2012, starting in London and expanding to more towns and cities.
On December 18, 2015, Amazon Local stopped selling daily deals; however, purchased deals remained valid according to its terms.
Retail stores
![Amazon Go in Seattle, December 2016](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4d/Amazon_Go_in_Seattle%2C_December_2016.jpg)
On November 2, 2015, Amazon opened its first physical retail store, a bookstore in the University Village, Seattle, University Village shopping center in Seattle. The store, known as Amazon Books, has prices matched to those found on the Amazon website (for Prime members) and integrate online reviews into the store's shelves.
On January 22, 2018, Amazon Go, a store that uses cameras and sensors to detect items that a shopper grabs off shelves and automatically charges a shopper's Amazon account, was opened to the general public in Seattle.
Customers scan their Amazon Go app as they enter, and are required to have an Amazon Go app installed on their smartphone and a linked Amazon account to be able to enter.
The technology is meant to eliminate the need for checkout lines.
Amazon Go was initially opened for Amazon employees in December 2016. By the end of 2018, there will be eight total Amazon Go stores located in Seattle, Chicago, San Francisco and New York. Amazon has plans to open as many as 3,000 Amazon Go locations across the United States by 2021.
Amazon announced to debut the Amazon 4-star in New York, Soho neighborhood Spring Street between Crosby and Lafayette on 27 September 2018. The store carries the 4-star and above rated products from around New York. The amazon website searches for the most rated, highly demanded, frequently bought and most wished for products which are then sold in the new amazon store under separate categories. Along with the paper price tags, the online-review cards will also be available for the customers to read before buying the product.
On November 11, 2019, Amazon announced plans to open a new type of grocery store in Los Angeles in 2020. In August 2020, Amazon revealed the name,
Amazon Fresh
Amazon Fresh is a subsidiary of the American e-commerce company Amazon in Seattle, Washington. It is a grocery retailer with physical stores and delivery services in most major U.S. cities, as well as some international cities, such as Berlin, Ha ...
. The chain's concept was the use of Dash Carts, which have screens and a scanner for a special code that is connected to the user's Amazon account. Customers sign in by scanning their unique codes found in the Amazon app, and as they put items in their carts, they are added to a list which gets charged to the user's credit card upon exiting the store. Unlike Amazon Go, the stores also have traditional checkouts. The first store opened in the Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, Woodland Hills neighborhood in September 2020. A second store opened in Irvine, California, Irvine in October 2020. Amazon Fresh currently has locations in California, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington (state), Washington, and Washington, D.C., in the United States along with London in the United Kingdom.
Amazon Home Services
In March 2015 Amazon launched a new on-demand service, Amazon Home Services, aimed at offering homeowners a marketplace for professional services such as plumbing, electrical, audio/visual installation, and lawn services (home improvement services). The Home Services category designed to make finding a specialist easy by verifying that providers are properly licensed and insured for the job. Service is "Satisfaction Guaranteed" and offers a refund if you are not happy in the end. Additionally, reviews are verified so you know the reviewer actually paid for and used the services.
Amazon Cash/Top Up
Amazon Cash (in the United States and Canada) and Amazon Top Up (in the United Kingdom) are services allowing Amazon shoppers to add money to their Amazon account at a physical retail store. The service, launched in April 2017, allows users to add between $5 and $500 (£5 and £250) to their accounts by paying with cash at a participating retailer, who scans a barcode linked to a customer's Amazon account. Users can present the app on paper, on the Amazon app, or as a text message sent by the Amazon website.
Participating retailers include 7-Eleven, CVS Pharmacy, and GameStop.
See also
* List of Amazon brands
* Timeline of Amazon Web Services
References
{{Amazon.com
Amazon (company)
Lists of products, Amazon
Service-oriented (business computing), Amazon