Over 500 Amazon Employees Oppose Return to Office.

Starting in 2025, all Amazon employees are required to return to the office for a five-day workweek. According to management, ending remote work will boost team productivity and creativity. In response, over 500 employees sent a letter to the company’s leadership requesting that they reconsider their decision. The letter emphasizes:

management justified its decisions with subjective phrases like “We believe” and “I feel.”

This contradicts Amazon’s values, where key decisions are made based on data.

According to employees, the place of work does not impact their productivity and creativity. Moreover, the new company policy will complicate life for certain groups of employees, including people with disabilities, mental health challenges, and parents.

Shein's profit dropped by 70%.

In the first half of 2024, it fell to $404 million amid high competition with Zara and Temu. Shein’s revenue reached $18 billion, with growth slowing to 23% compared to 40% during the same period in 2023.

In October 2024, the company held several meetings with potential investors in London after abandoning its previous plan to go public in New York due to resistance from U.S. authorities.

The European Commission has launched an investigation against the Chinese retailer Temu.

The European Commission announced the initiation of an investigation into the Chinese online retailer Temu, suspecting it of violating the Digital Services Act (DSA).

European authorities suspect Temu of selling illegal goods and engaging users with its services. The latter concern relates to reward programs structured in a game-like style.

Additionally, the European Union (EU) authorities want greater transparency in Temu's actions, as required by the DSA. The company must disclose the key parameters used in its recommendation systems and provide researchers access to public data.

“We want to ensure that Temu complies with the Digital Services Act, particularly in making sure that products sold on their platform meet EU standards and do not harm consumers,

” stated the EU’s antitrust chief, Margrethe Vestager.

Temu is owned by the Chinese holding PDD. According to the European Commission, the service's monthly audience in the EU is 92 million people.

Amazon has launched a virtual Christmas store.

The online giant Amazon has introduced a new project called the Virtual Holiday Shop. This vibrant virtual store uses immersive 3D technology powered by Amazon Beyond. Upon entering the enchanting shop, customers can start shopping to the sound of gentle music. With just a few clicks, users can add items directly to their cart and proceed to checkout as usual on Amazon.

The virtual holiday shop offers a selection of over 100 gifts, including new home items, electronics, toys, and more. It's truly beautiful!

OpenAI has launched its search system based on GPT-4.

Now, ChatGPT Search will be able to provide users with up-to-date answers with direct links to sources. Search results will come with convenient widgets — including stock charts, weather forecasts, and maps with precise locations. This update brings ChatGPT closer to a fully-fledged search engine capable of competing with Google.

Currently, ChatGPT Search is available to Plus and Team subscribers. Access will open to all users in the coming months.

Amazon is preparing for Black Friday and Cyber Monday with Alexa.

Cyber Monday is on December 2, 2024. It’s always the Monday after Black Friday, which falls on November 29 this year.

Amazon’s Deals page is place to browse for early deals. Customers can also rely on Alexa for help, by simply asking “Alexa, what are my deals?” Alexa can also proactively notify customers up to 24 hours in advance if there is a deal coming on an eligible item on their Wish List, in their Cart, or Save for Later.

They’ll receive a notification on their Alexa-enabled device when a deal is available and can then ask Alexa to remind them when the deal goes live or ask Alexa to buy it for them by saying, “Alexa, buy it for me.”

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos continues to sell his company shares.

On November 1, he sold over 16 million shares, earning nearly $3 billion, according to data from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

The transaction occurred as the company's stock was near its historical peak. Notably, on that day, shares rose over 6%, approaching $200 each, following the release of third-quarter earnings that exceeded Wall Street forecasts. Currently, Amazon's market capitalization stands at $2.08 trillion.

Let us recall that Bezos has already sold company shares this year. This occurred in February, for the first time since 2021. Similar sales were also made this summer.

Amazon's third-quarter report shows positive results, indicating reduced costs and resource reallocation.

Revenue from the Amazon Web Services (AWS) division grew by 19% to $27.5 billion, with operating profit exceeding forecasts. Online sales saw double-digit growth, and the advertising business also showed an increase. Total revenue rose by 11% to $158.9 billion, with operating profit at $17.4 billion.

In 2024, the company plans to significantly increase capital expenditures, primarily in technology infrastructure and artificial intelligence.

Amazon Prime launches an AI-powered TV show recap feature without spoilers.

Amazon Prime Video has introduced a new feature called X-Ray Recaps, which uses AI to provide brief summaries of episodes or entire seasons of a show. The recaps are created through Amazon Bedrock and custom AI models that analyze subtitles and key plot points.

The feature is currently available in beta testing in the U.S. Users can get short summaries for Amazon original series, such as The Boys and Mr. and Mrs. Smith.

Coming soon to all marketplaces worldwide?

The founder of Amazon Jeff Bezos and OpenAI have become investors in a robot manufacturing startup.

Physical Intelligence is quite a serious project. It includes many former executives from major corporations such as Tesla, Google DeepMind, X, and others. As a result, the market has valued it at $2.4 billion.

Over the past eight months, the startup has been developing a "universal AI model" for robots. Its ultimate goal sounds ambitious — the creation of artificial intelligence that is "equal to or surpasses human capabilities in a wide range of tasks."

Participants in the startup believe that their algorithms already enable the production of robots capable of doing laundry, clearing tables, or performing other similar tasks.

Bezos' current net worth is estimated at $205 billion, placing him third in the billionaire rankings.

Interestingly, OpenAI is still officially considered a startup, despite having effectively grown into a significant company. During its latest funding round, it secured $6.6 billion in investments.

Russian scientists have improved AI tools.

Researchers from the T-Bank AI Research laboratory have developed an algorithm that has set a new global standard in recommendation systems. It enhances the accuracy of AI-based online recommendations by 50%. The experts conducted over 15,000 experiments.

As a result, thanks to Russian scientists, companies around the world can now improve their metrics, including conversion rates, average order value, and revenue. For example, customers will be able to find the products they need more quickly in online stores and marketplaces.

Northern Europe is region leads in the percentage of internet users.

Continuing to study the European e-commerce market through the European E-Commerce Report 2024. Today, we will talk about Northern Europe. This region leads in the percentage of internet users (97% in 2023, forecasted at 98% in 2024) and online shoppers (83% and 84% respectively). Despite this, it generates only 6% of Europe’s e-commerce revenue (approximately €57.5 billion in 2024).

🇩🇰Denmark

In 2024, 100% of the population will be using the internet, and 90% will shop online. Most of these purchases are from local sellers (89%). Last year, inflation prompted Danes to cut back on online spending, but this year, e-commerce revenue may see slight growth, partly due to the development of omnichannel players.

🇪🇪 Estonia

Internet penetration is approaching 95%, and the share of e-commerce customers is steadily growing (73% in 2023, 75% in 2024). Estonians primarily buy from local sellers (89%), with fewer purchases from EU sellers (43%).

The online retail market in the country is currently experiencing a downturn not only due to inflation but also due to high taxes.

🇫🇮 Finland

Almost everyone in Finland uses the internet (98%), and four out of five adults shop online (80%). Domestic purchases account for a smaller share compared to the regional average — 80%. Purchases from non-EU countries are also infrequent (17%). Despite declines in online revenue in 2022 and 2023, sales of goods from China in the country increased by a third, reaching 13% of the total local e-commerce market.

🇮🇸Iceland

The share of internet users is one of the highest in Europe (99%), as is the percentage of online shoppers (91%). Due to the country’s small size, purchases are often made from other EU countries (55%) and outside the union (37%).

🇱🇻 Latvia

93% of the population has internet access, but e-commerce usage is relatively low (62%). Only 78% buy from local sellers.

🇱🇹Lithuania

The situation with internet penetration and e-commerce is almost identical: 90% of internet users, but only 62% are online shoppers. However, the share of those who prefer Lithuanian products is as high as 92% — one of the highest in Europe.

🇳🇴Norway

The percentage of Norwegians using the internet is 100%, with 91% being e-commerce customers (1 percentage point lower than in 2021-2022). The distribution of purchase destinations is typical for Nordic countries: 85% buy locally, 33% from the EU, and 23% from other countries. Online sales in Norway have not stagnated, but growth has slowed from 20% in 2021 to a projected 3% in 2024.

🇸🇪Sweden

Almost everyone here uses the internet (99%), and the vast majority shop online (92%). Of these, 90% buy from other Swedes. Due to the high key interest rate, online sales declined in 2023, but growth was noted in the first quarter of 2024.

OpenAI acquired the domain chat.com

Now chat.com immediately redirects users to ChatGPT.

Previously, the domain was owned by Dharmesh Shah, co-founder of HubSpot: he bought it for $15.5 million at the beginning of 2023 and later sold it for a higher price. The exact amount of the deal is unknown, and the buyer's identity was revealed only after Sam Altman's post on X.

The acquisition of chat.com and the partial abandonment of the GPT branding align with OpenAI's strategy of "simplifying" the brand. This strategy also includes simpler model names, such as the recently launched "o1."

Amazon is developing "smart" glasses for couriers.

Glasses will display directions to the building entrance and apartment. So couriers won't have to wander around searching for the correct address.

The glasses will assist in navigating buildings and their surroundings, aiming to simplify package delivery, according to Reuters, citing sources. The concept is for the glasses to show a step-by-step route to the customer's home or apartment — indicating which floor to exit on, where to turn, and where there are obstacles like locked gates.

This will save delivery drivers "seconds," which, on a larger scale, "add up to minutes," the publication states. The development might take a considerable amount of time, sources note: the company is facing challenges with creating a battery that is both lightweight and capable of lasting an entire shift.

Additionally, Amazon will need to find a way to convince couriers to wear these glasses — it may likely become a mandatory requirement. The company will probably have to spend "years" collecting data on every building, along with the sidewalks and paths leading to them, as well as curbs, Reuters reports. There is no guarantee that the company will ultimately release a finished product — the project could be put on hold at any time.

An Amazon warehouse worker called their job the best.

An Amazon warehouse worker, who had previously worked at several large companies, stated that he now has the best job. The warehouse employee shared this praise not with outsiders, but directly with Amazon's founder, Jeff Bezos.

*The Salary Rate of Jeff Bezos and Amazon Warehouse Worker

Bezos sold $2.7 billion worth of Amazon shares in November.

Jeff Bezos sold $2.7 billion worth of Amazon shares in two weeks in November. According to his trading plan, the billionaire intends to sell 25 million shares by the end of 2025. Since July, Bezos has already sold 22 million shares, Barron’s reports.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos sold $2.7 billion worth of company shares since early November, according to documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

The current stock sales are part of a previously announced trading plan, Barron’s writes. Such plans are adopted in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act, which allows corporate insiders to create a trading plan for selling shares to avoid accusations of insider trading. The current plan was disclosed in May when Amazon's first-quarter report was published. Bezos plans to sell 25 million Amazon shares by the end of 2025.

On November 8 and 11, Bezos sold shares worth $1.2 billion, and prior to that, he sold shares worth $1.5 billion on November 1 and 6-7. The share price ranged from approximately $200 to $211.5. The first transaction under the plan was dated July 2: since then, Bezos has sold 22 million Amazon shares and donated 555,385 shares to charity, Barron’s notes. Bezos still owns more than 1 billion Amazon shares, valued at $220 billion, Barron’s writes. Amazon declined to comment on the sales.

Amazon invests $110 million to support AI research at universities.

The Build on Trainium program enables expanded research and training opportunities for advanced AI processing, sparking innovation for the frontier models of the future.

Amazon is announcing a $110 million investment for university-led research in generative AI. The program, known as Build on Trainium, will provide compute hours that allow researchers the opportunity to build new AI architectures, machine learning (ML) libraries, and performance optimizations for large-scale distributed AWS Trainium UltraClusters (collections of of AI accelerators that work together on complex computational tasks).

AWS Trainium is the ML chip that AWS built for the purposes of deep learning training and inference. AI advances created through the Build on Trainium initiative will be open-sourced, so researchers and developers can continue to advance their innovations.

How Central Europeans Shop Online.

Continuing our review of the European E-Commerce Report 2024.

Central Europe Overview - The internet and e-commerce penetration rates are average by European standards—91% and 70%, respectively, in 2023, and projected to reach 92% and 71% in 2024.

E-commerce revenue in 2023 amounted to €86.1 billion, a third higher than in Northern Europe.

🇦🇹 Austria

The share of online shoppers is growing faster than in other European countries: from 66% in 2022 to 72% in 2023 and a projected 79% in 2024. Austrians buy almost as frequently from EU countries (69%) as locally (71%).

Online and traditional commerce in the country has been facing a crisis for the second year due to rising prices. Austrians spend their savings on entertainment and tourism rather than goods.

🇨🇿 Czech Republic

By 2023, the active growth of e-commerce users in the country had slowed, with the share stabilizing at 78%. The vast majority (89%) shop domestically. Over the past two years, Czechs’ spending on online purchases declined, but early 2024 indicates a gradual recovery in demand.

🇭🇺Hungary

In 2024, the number of e-commerce clients is expected to decrease from 70% to 69%. Meanwhile, 90% of Hungarians order local goods, and 42% buy goods from EU countries.

🇵🇱Poland

The share of citizens shopping online remains below two-thirds (64%). However, product patriotism is strong—94% choose Polish goods. The frequency of online shopping has been steadily rising due to increasing prices. The trend of buying second-hand items is also gaining momentum.

🇸🇰Slovakia

The share of e-commerce users has remained at 77% for the third year, with purchasing distribution being unremarkable (81% buy locally, 39% from other EU countries).

🇸🇮 Slovenia

The number of online shoppers is lower than in Slovakia (69%), but the share of those purchasing goods from EU countries is higher (50%).

🇨🇭Switzerland

The leading country in e-commerce (84%) and overall internet penetration (100%).

The home appliances and electronics (HAE), fashion, and home goods segments continue to grow, while grocery revenue is shifting towards physical stores.

Amazon topped the list of affordable retailers in the USA.

Profitero published its 8th annual Price Wars study, comparing online prices for more than 13,000 products across 22 major U.S. online retailers. For the eighth consecutive year, Amazon led as the lowest-priced online retailer, with an average price advantage of 14% over its rivals. However, competitors closed the gap compared to last year when Amazon had a 16% price advantage.

Target showed a solid year-over-year improvement, with online prices just 13% higher than Amazon's - vs 16% last year. Target made the most progress in Home Furniture, Household Supplies and Beauty, closing the price gap with Amazon by 5 percentage points and tying Walmart for second in Toys with a 2% price difference from Amazon.

Walmart continues as Amazon's closest price competitor, with only a 5% price difference on identical items, though slightly less competitive than last year's 4% price gap.

Off-topic: Please be careful when using videos generated by neural networks.