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mostlysignssomeportents · 1 year ago

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Amazon Alexa is a graduate of the Darth Vader MBA

Next Tuesday (Oct 31) at 10hPT, the Internet Archive is livestreaming my presentation on my recent book, The Internet Con.

If you own an Alexa, you might enjoy its integration with IFTTT, an easy scripting environment that lets you create your own little voice-controlled apps, like "start my Roomba" or "close the garage door." If so, tough shit, Amazon just nuked IFTTT for Alexa:

https://www.theverge.com/2023/10/25/23931463/ifttt-amazon-alexa-applets-ending-support-integration-automation

Amazon can do this because the Alexa's operating system sits behind a cryptographic lock, and any tool that bypasses that lock is a felony under Section 1201 of the DMCA, punishable by a 5-year prison sentence and a $500,000 fine. That means that it's literally a crime to provide a rival OS that lets users retain functionality that Amazon no longer supports.

This is the proverbial gun on the mantelpiece, a moral hazard and invitation to mischief that tempts Amazon executives to run a bait-and-switch con where they sell you a gadget with five features and then remotely kill-switch two of them. This is prime directive of the Darth Vader MBA: "I am altering the deal. Pray I don't alter it any further."

So many companies got their business-plan at the Darth Vader MBA. The ability to revoke features after the fact means that companies can fuck around, but never find out. Apple sold millions of tracks via iTunes with the promise of letting you stream them to any other device you owned. After a couple years of this, the company caught some heat from the record labels, so they just pushed an update that killed the feature:

https://memex.craphound.com/2004/10/30/apple-to-ipod-owners-eat-shit-and-die-updated/

That gun on the mantelpiece went off all the way back in 2004 and it turns out it was a starter-pistol. Pretty soon, everyone was getting in on the act. If you find an alert on your printer screen demanding that you install a "security update" there's a damned good chance that the "update" is designed to block you from using third-party ink cartridges in a printer that you (sorta) own:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2020/11/ink-stained-wretches-battle-soul-digital-freedom-taking-place-inside-your-printer

Selling your Tesla? Have fun being poor. The upgrades you spent thousands of dollars on go up in a puff of smoke the minute you trade the car into the dealer, annihilating the resale value of your car at the speed of light:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/10/23/how-to-fix-cars-by-breaking-felony-contempt-of-business-model/

Telsa has to detect the ownership transfer first. But once a product is sufficiently cloud-based, they can destroy your property from a distance without any warning or intervention on your part. That's what Adobe did last year, when it literally stole the colors from your Photoshop files, in history's SaaSiest heist caper:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/10/28/fade-to-black/#trust-the-process

And yet, when we hear about remote killswitches in the news, it's most often as part of a PR blitz for their virtues. Russia's invasion of Ukraine kicked off a new genre of these PR pieces, celebrating the fact that a John Deere dealership was able to remotely brick looted tractors that had been removed to Chechnya:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/05/08/about-those-kill-switched-ukrainian-tractors/

Today, Deere's PR minions are pitching search-and-replace versions of this story about Israeli tractors that Hamas is said to have looted, which were also remotely bricked.

But the main use of this remote killswitch isn't confounding war-looters: it's preventing farmers from fixing their own tractors without paying rent to John Deere. An even bigger omission from this narrative is the fact that John Deere is objectively Very Bad At Security, which means that the world's fleet of critical agricultural equipment is one breach away from being rendered permanently inert:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/04/23/reputation-laundry/#deere-john

There are plenty of good and honorable people working at big companies, from Adobe to Apple to Deere to Tesla to Amazon. But those people have to convince their colleagues that they should do the right thing. Those debates weigh the expected gains from scammy, immoral behavior against the expected costs.

Without DMCA 1201, Amazon would have to worry that their decision to revoke IFTTT functionality would motivate customers to seek out alternative software for their Alexas. This is a big deal: once a customer learns how to de-Amazon their Alexa, Amazon might never recapture that customer. Such a switch wouldn't have to come from a scrappy startup or a hacker's DIY solution, either. Take away DMCA 1201 and Walmart could step up, offering an alternative Alexa software stack that let you switch your purchases away from Amazon.

Money talks, bullshit walks. In any boardroom argument about whether to shift value away from customers to the company, a credible argument about how the company will suffer a net loss as a result has a better chance of prevailing than an argument that's just about the ethics of such a course of action:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/07/28/microincentives-and-enshittification/

Inevitably, these killswitches are pitched as a paternalistic tool for protecting customers. An HP rep once told me that they push deceptive security updates to brick third-party ink cartridges so that printer owners aren't tricked into printing out cherished family photos with ink that fades over time. Apple insists that its ability to push iOS updates that revoke functionality is about keeping mobile users safe – not monopolizing repair:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/22/vin-locking/#thought-differently

John Deere's killswitches protect you from looters. Adobe's killswitches let them add valuable functionality to their products. Tesla? Well, Tesla at least is refreshingly honest: "We have a killswitch because fuck you, that's why."

These excuses ring hollow because they conspicuously omit the possibility that you could have the benefits without the harms. Like, your tractor could come with a killswitch that you could bypass, meaning you could brick it at a distance, and still fix it yourself. Same with your phone. Software updates that take away functionality you want can be mitigated with the ability to roll back those updates – and by giving users the ability to apply part of a patch, but not the whole patch.

Cloud computing and software as a service are a choice. "Local first" computing is possible, and desirable:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/08/03/there-is-no-cloud/#only-other-peoples-computers

The cheapest rhetorical trick of the tech sector is the "indivisibility gambit" – the idea that these prix-fixe menus could never be served a la carte. Wanna talk to your friends online? Sorry there's just no way to help you do that without spying on you:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/11/08/divisibility/#technognosticism

One important argument over smart-speakers was poisoned by this false dichotomy: the debate about accessibility and IoT gadgets. Every IoT privacy or revocation scandal would provoke blanket statements from technically savvy people like, "No one should ever use one of these." The replies would then swiftly follow: "That's an ableist statement: I rely on my automation because I have a disability and I would otherwise be reliant on a caregiver or have to go without."

But the excluded middle here is: "No one should use one of these because they are killswitched. This is especially bad when a smart speaker is an assistive technology, because those applications are too important to leave up to the whims of giant companies that might brick them or revoke their features due to their own commercial imperatives, callousness, or financial straits."

Like the problem with the "bionic eyes" that Second Sight bricked wasn't that they helped visually impaired people see – it was that they couldn't be operated without the company's ongoing support and consent:

https://spectrum.ieee.org/bionic-eye-obsolete

It's perfectly possible to imagine a bionic eye whose software can be maintained by third parties, whose parts and schematics are widely available. The challenge of making this assistive technology fail gracefully isn't technical – it's commercial.

We're meant to believe that no bionic eye company could survive unless they devise their assistive technology such that it fails catastrophically if the business goes under. But it turns out that a bionic eye company can't survive even if they are allowed to do this.

Even if you believe Milton Friedman's Big Lie that a company is legally obligated to "maximize shareholder value," not even Friedman says that you are legally obligated to maximize companies' shareholder value. The fact that a company can make more money by defrauding you by revoking or bricking the things you buy from them doesn't oblige you to stand up for their right to do this.

Indeed, all of this conduct is arguably illegal, under Section 5 of the FTC Act, which prohibits "unfair and deceptive business practices":

https://pluralistic.net/2023/01/10/the-courage-to-govern/#whos-in-charge

"No one should ever use a smart speaker" lacks nuance. "Anyone who uses a smart speaker should be insulated from unilateral revocations by the manufacturer, both through legal restrictions that bind the manufacturer, and legal rights that empower others to modify our devices to help us," is a much better formulation.

It's only in the land of the Darth Vader MBA that the deal is "take it or leave it." In a good world, we should be able to take the parts that work, and throw away the parts that don't.

(Image: Stock Catalog/https://www.quotecatalog.com, Sam Howzit; CC BY 2.0; modified)

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/10/26/hit-with-a-brick/#graceful-failure

#pluralistic #alexa #ifttt #criptech #disability #drm #revocation #nothing about us without us #futureproofing #graceful failure #darth vader MBA #enshittification

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st-just · 1 year ago

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“Seller services,” as Amazon refers to these and other sources of revenue, are a large and growing part of Amazon’s revenue — larger than Amazon Web Services and quite profitable. They also mean that letting a seller market off-brand products on your platform is often going to be more profitable than selling your own discount brands: Undercutting an independent seller’s small coffee-grinder business is, it turns out, a bad look and, in the big picture, maybe not worth the trouble. Sellers serve a lot of purposes for Amazon and joke among themselves about the free labor they provide. In exchange for access to the largest sales channel on the internet, they do a lot more than just pay Amazon its fees. They perform market research, obsessively investigating review data and marketplace trends to figure out what’s going to be popular on the platform next. (Recent red-hot third-party product types include miniature waffle-makers, reading lights that drape around your neck, and dog puzzles.) They handle customer service. They exert downward price pressure on one another, and they absorb a lot of risk (dozens of dog-puzzle sellers fail so that one may thrive). No matter what happens to them, whether their own businesses succeed or fail, Amazon makes money. This is a great deal for Amazon, and over the years it has become Amazon’s main deal — in 2021, the company estimated that activities on its marketplace created “more than 1.8 million U.S. jobs” and shared success stories from its hundreds of thousands of American sellers, some of whom had become millionaires. It was a slow and, in hindsight, astounding transformation in which the “everything store” substantially outsourced its store.

-John Hermann, The Junkification of Amazon

#quote #polemic #economics #John Hermann

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copperbadge · 1 year ago

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We recently got into a discussion of producing audiobooks for small press, indy, and/or selfpub authors on another post, but we had strayed pretty far from the original post, and @genedoucette very kindly gave permission for me to slice his comment off the end of that post and put it into a new one.

genedoucette

I have been very, very lucky when it comes to audiobooks, so I'm hesitant to offer advice without adding a huge YMMV caveat at the top. For most of my self-published novels, I used ACX and paid a narrator out-of-pocket (rather than 50-50 proceeds split), which just means I'm paying an agreed-upon X dollars per finished hour, prior to making any money off f the audio editon. Every book I did this with paid for itself, sometimes within the first two or three months, sometimes longer. (YMMV: I did a lot of this during what I would call the audiobook bubble, when demand was higher than supply.) I had another novel series--Tandemstar--that I brought to an audiobook company, who brought it to their distributor, who agreed to pay for the production costs of the book and to pay me a (small) advance. To date, the royalties from that series have not made up the cost of the advance, but the good news was that none of the production costs came from my pocket and the advance meant I did make something out of the deal. The rule-of-thumb I always heard was, don't expect books that haven't sold well to sell any better as audiobooks. But my experience, with ACX/Audible, is this: about 50% of my monthly earning come from audio sales. How long is the book in question (word count), and what is the genre? Because it is absolutely possible to get a not-terrible narrator at a not-terrible cost on ACX. If it's a low word count book with a decent sales record, I'd 100% do it. If it's a high word count book with few sales, maybe not.

Thanks so much for this! I am admittedly always suspicious of Amazon writ large, but it's not like I've never partnered with them before, and often for indy authors they're one of a very few games in town.

50% of sales via audio impresses me a lot -- I'm not really in the industry so my sense of scale may be off but my eyebrows went up at that. And looking at ACX, a split-profits model would be appealing. I'm more interested in providing the reader with more options than I am with making royalties, so I don't mind low payout, but I also don't want to exploit a narrator if I can avoid it.

I doubt I'm selling near the level you are, but it's pretty consistent, at least -- for the last literary novel I published in 2021, and for the four genre romances published in the past year-and-change, it's generally 200-250 copies (epub and paperback) in the first 6 months, and about 40 per year after that. None of them are over 100K words -- the first of the romance novels, the one I'd be most likely to have done as an audiobook to trial, is around 50K, and the other books are all between 60K and 90K or so.

There's some fine print I'm not nuts about -- exclusivity to Amazon/Audible/iTunes for example -- but I can see why it's a necessary business model for them. There's not a ton of clarity on cost per hour for a book, but it looks like for a flat fee it starts around $250 per finished hour? So I'd probably be looking at minimum $1K out of pocket, which is probably roughly (I haven't done the math) royalties per book for a full year. It could be fun to give it a swing regardless, although reading the ACX site made me realize I'd actually have to give notes and feedback to a reader which sounds nervewracking.

It looks like the readers for ACX are repped by SAG-AFTRA, which means that for now I have time to consider while the strike is going on. (Obviously not all of them are union but if it's an entertainment format where the union is involved, I don't want to cross the picket.) And the ACX site is pretty comprehensive in terms of figuring out how it all works, so if I did want to source a narrator elsewhere and perhaps not distribute exclusively through ACX, I now have a grounding from which to research other options too.

Sorry, a lot of this is just me thinking aloud, but I truly do appreciate the info and also something to bounce off of in terms of considering it. And I appreciate the opportunity to share it with my readership too, thank you!

#genedoucette #shivadhverse #independent publishing #selfpub #audiobooks

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mikefaistinfo · 9 months ago

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Interview: Mike Faist Isn’t Sure About This Whole Acting Thing

“I can’t tell if I hate acting or if I love it too much,” he said ahead of the debut of the Amazon series “Panic.” Coming soon, a major role in Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story.” For now, he’s going to Ohio.

By Elisabeth Vincentelli Published May 27, 2021

Tall and lanky, looking as if he were born wearing Wranglers, Mike Faist cuts quite a striking figure in the Amazon Prime series “Panic”: His character, Dodge Mason, is a Stetson-wearing rodeo dude who breaks untamed horses, then soulfully gazes into their eyes.

That, however, is not at all how the character was written in the Lauren Oliver young adult novel that inspired the show, debuting Friday, in which Dodge and a dozen other small-town teenagers face off in a series of life-threatening challenges — think a naturalistic “Hunger Games” with more class war.

After shooting a pilot in 2018 in upstate New York (where the book is set), the production completely rebooted in Austin, Tex., a year later, and Dodge’s back story was changed to better fit the new locale. Suddenly, the school wimp who was interested in cards and magic had been turned into a Western archetype: the strong, do-right loner who doesn’t say much. Faist went with the flow.

“Ciphers can be really boring,” said Oliver, who also wrote the screenplay, “but he manages to capture the power inherent in a certain level of invisibility.”

Dodge is quite a departure for Faist, who is best known for his Tony-nominated performance as the tormented, cynical Connor Murphy in the Broadway musical “Dear Evan Hansen.” Blessed with a rangy charisma and a bone structure that appears to have been carved with a scythe, the actor, now 29, could have easily coasted in “Panic.” But his sensibility is closer to that of such atypical leading men as Adam Driver, and he modernizes a potentially boilerplate part.

“Mike really didn’t want to be a caricature, but I don’t think he ever could be,” said Jessica Sula, who plays Natalie, Dodge’s love interest in “Panic.” She recalled that when shooting resumed in Texas after a Covid-19-imposed pause, Faist chose to live in a trailer on a plot of land with his rescue dog, Austin.

“He’s just so fabulously ridiculous and wonderful,” she said of Faist, laughing fondly.

Faist’s own course has been ascendant since he dropped out of acting school at 18, and his plum role in Steven Spielberg’s highly anticipated “West Side Story” as Riff, the leader of the Jets, should put him on Hollywood’s speed dial when it debuts in December. (Shooting wrapped in September 2019.)

And yet the actor spent much of a recent conversation candidly admitting to ambivalence and incertitude. He spent some of the past year driving around the country with Austin and writing a screenplay. He has been turning down offers and is now selling his Brooklyn apartment and heading back to Ohio.

Faist was warm and laid back on a recent sunny morning in Park Slope, and he laughed a lot in what seemed to be protective self-deprecation as he pondered his future, professional and otherwise. These are edited excerpts from the conversation.

How did they spring the new Dodge on you?

It was still the same elements in terms of, “Oh, here’s the new guy,” but instead of, like, a weird magician, he’s now a … cowboy? I was like, “What do you mean, I’m now a cowboy?” They were like: “Yeah, yeah, you’ll be fine. Maybe try an accent.”

You do look pretty comfortable playing a horse whisperer.

I’d never worked with a horse in a production before. There were two of them: a very calm, gentle horse and a skittish one. We just ended up working with this skittish horse because it was actually doing stuff. The scene where the horse moves toward me was not planned or choreographed at all. They are, you know, unpredictable.

It might have been less intimidating than a sex scene. Is the one with Jessica Sula your first as an actor?

Maybe. I don’t know.

Wouldn’t you remember?

You’d think! I did do a romantic scene [onstage] in “A Month in the Country” with Taylor Schilling. I remember getting a pretty [expletive] review. [Laughs.]

Since the fall of 2018, you’ve gone back and forth between “Panic” and “West Side Story.” How did you handle these very physical projects?

For “West Side,” I found these Bruce Davidson photos of Brooklyn gangs from the late ’50s. If you look at their photos, these guys are emaciated, they have tattoos, and they look wired. Any money they had, they would pool and buy cheap wine and maybe they would have French fries or something. Then they were doing drugs. So I was like, “I need to lose some weight.” But my body was totally breaking down. Then I tried to bulk up as much as possible for “Panic” — just eating potatoes.

Did you do any kind of special training?

I started going to the Mendez boxing gym in Manhattan for “West Side.” I was working with John Rosado, who was raised in New York, Puerto Rican, badass. He was like, “I can’t believe I’m training a Jet!”

Your first big job was in the Broadway musical “Newsies,” which is quite dance heavy. Still, was it daunting to audition for “West Side Story”?

I put together a tape, and then they said, “We want you to come back in and dance.” I was like, “Is there any way you could not have me dance?” They were like: “What are you talking about? This is ‘West Side Story’!” The only saving grace is that Justin Peck [the choreographer] and I have similar body types: tall, nothing but arms and legs. They had their work cut out for them in order to get me up to snuff.

Why aren’t you in the upcoming “Dear Evan Hansen” movie alongside your former co-star Ben Platt?

I feel like I couldn’t do it. I started that when I was, like, 21, and was with it for five or six years. When you’re doing eight shows a week, it very much turns into relying on your technique and the job of it. And the show was such a zeitgeisty thing. It really took a lot out of me, and I didn’t really have it in me anymore.

With “Panic” and “West Side Story” behind you, what are you lining up?

Maybe this is so pretentious, but “West Side” was everything I had ever hoped to accomplish as an actor. It’s really crazy, but it was transcendental: either I didn’t feel like I was myself, or I was the most authentic version of myself. I can’t really tell which one. Having gone from having no money, wanting to just be a working actor — I don’t want to just be a working actor anymore. I had that experience. It [expletive] me up.

What did?

“West Side,” in the best of ways. I can’t unsee what I’ve seen. The pandemic nearly killed us and — what, I just want to be an actor? That’s ridiculous. [Laughs.] I don’t care enough. It’s a weird thing: I can’t tell if I hate acting or if I love it too much. It’s not like I don’t plan on doing it. I just don’t want to follow the trajectory of what the industry wants me to do.

Which is what?

Put on a cape and wear a mask. I need to take more agency because no one’s going to do it for me. It’s tricky, but it’s interesting and pretty exciting. I’m going to hang out with my family in Ohio and then start to figure out where I’m going to go. I would like to ultimately be of service and of use; that’s when I feel at my best.

You can find here: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/27/arts/television/mike-faist-panic-west-side-story.html

#mike faist #interview #2021

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teamfreewill2pointo · 1 year ago

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https://www.instagram.com/stories/genpadalecki/3262227164971375676?utm_source=ig_story_item_share&igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

I wonder if Whalefall is one of the books the Padaleckis bought the rights to… they’re both very passionate about the story!

Yeah I'm really curious to see what they did/do with the properties they purchase, if we find out about it.

I have a few different friends that have helped turn books/graphic novels into media. You may have seen one that recently came out after years of development.

It can be a really long road. I knew somebody who was looking to get the rights to the Wheel of Time series before the year 2000. The rights ended up with NBC, not the company my friend worked for, but got bounced around before being developed now by Amazon. I finally got to see it in 2021, 21 years later.

Sometimes, it's better for the production company that owns the rights to sell them rather than produce the work itself. I know Jared has done this with some of the book rights. From his latest comments, I assume that the Padaleckis are more interested in producing it themselves, but also in talking up the series and building up interest, he can increase the value of the brand, which can be then sold to another company that has more resources to produce the work.

#jared padalecki #behind the scenes #books #industry

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mkfiq · 2 years ago

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What Does Ecommerce home page template Mean?

When you plan on providing digital products you probably don’t have to have a full fledged ecommerce platform. A digital product might be a thing like an ebook, online course, audio file, video file, or software application.

Marketers and developers are actually starting to really feel the mobile speed crunch. Mobile users assume pages on their own mobile devices to load faster than desktop.

Magic Spoon, a breakfast brand, does an excellent position portraying its products’ texture on its ecommerce site. The layout features a journal-like construction, which has a sparking color palette and detectable specifics powering each individual click and scroll.

logo created for fashion e commerce website working with a simple script font model and skinny feminin model as the most crucial thought should be to offer Ladies outfits

Given the gravity of this determination, Kimp delivers you a guidebook on designing Ecommerce logos in 2021.

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Video & movement graphics for partaking content material & adsKimp Video – Video & motion graphics for participating content & ads

You will need to use a paid application to take full advantage of Amazon FBA integration and dropshipping. Many fulfillment centers offer you free WooCommerce integration, nevertheless some could involve customized development for an extra cost.

There are ten themes (all free) offered within the admin. You would possibly need tiny familiarity with HTML and CSS given that the theme customizer doesn’t Have got a drag and drop functionality.

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You can use free applications to incorporate Amazon two way sync and Amazon Checkout. You’ll will need paid out applications to manage items like Amazon FBA, fulfillment center and dropshipping integrations, eBay 2 way sync, evaluate snippet structured data, email marketing automation, and print on desire. You’ll require custom development if you would like integrate Adobe Commerce with WordPress.

For the small business over a spending plan, Sellfy is a good starting level. It provides you with anything you might want to get started selling online – regardless of whether you promote physical or digital products. It’s not a perfect solution at scale, although.

This beautifully designed ecommerce store incorporates a theme with a lot of white Room, which helps present the goods more prominently. It has an incredibly neat and clear design, making the website glimpse really Experienced and sophisticated.

#ecommerce #united states #iphone

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stormclouds-chainmail · 1 year ago

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[Image description

Image 1: a tweet by Elizabeth Ann West @EAWwrites on 19 May 2023 followed by their twitter bio.

Tweet text: I'm really sorry that a bunch of people were today years old when they learned about Al for fiction. But I've been publishing with it since December 2021. Others even longer. It's not going away. Amazon is invested in it and bringing it on their platforms.

Twitter bio text: Founder at Future FictionAcademy.com Author of 25+ best-selling Pride & Prejudice variations. Lover of all things geeky!

Virginia Beach, VA

futurefictionacademy.com

Joined March 2008

Image 2: a screenshot of a quote and source.

Julia was twenty-six years old... and she worked, as he had guessed, on the novel-writing machines in the Fiction Department. She enjoyed her work, which consisted chiefly in running and servicing a powerful but tricky electric motor... She could describe the whole process of composing a novel, from the general directive issued by the Planning Committee down to the final touching-up by the Rewrite Squad. But she was not interested in the final product. She "didn't much care for reading," she said. Books were just a commodity that had to be produced, like jam or bootlaces.

From 1984 (Nineteen Eighty-Four), by George Orwell.

Published by Secker & Warburg in 1948

Additional resources

Image 3: a Gordon Ramsay meme where he looks down at something and the end of sentence in the subtitles has been edited. The subtitles now read, "Delicious. Finally, some good fucking Orwell comparisons."

End description]

“Author of 25+ best-selling Pride & Prejudice variations”

Yeah, no.

#described #image description

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cleverhottubmiracle · 23 days ago

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Welcome back to Haul of Fame, your must-read beauty roundup for new products, new ideas, and an exclusive piece of Target beauty news. Included in today’s issue: Amouage, Atwater, Beekman 1802, The Center, Credo Beauty, Dazzle Dry, Dolce & Gabbana, D.S. & Durga, Elemis, Eva NYC, Face Haus, Hourglass, Ilia Beauty, Kylie Cosmetics, L’Oréal, Literie, MAC, Makeup By Mario, Makeup Eraser, Mother Science, Naturium, Ole Henriksen, Phlur, Proper, RŌZ, Solawave, Sulwhasoo, Urban Decay, and those girls on TikTok who chant about their hairstyle.But first… Stories about makeup “dupes” are copies, too. In the 1990s, Seventeen told us how to use Wet ‘n’ Wild’s $5 nude lip liner instead of MAC’s cult Spice shade; by 2005, E.l.f. gloss had an unofficial MySpace fan page comparing it to Lancôme’s Juicy Tubes. This is not a new thing.What’s fresh is brands embracing their status as a dupe machine, instead of coyly denying it. Enter MCoBeauty. The Australian brand officially launched in 2020, but its retail ancestor, ModelCo, has been around since 2002. (Remember their aerosol spray tan?) Last March, it entered 1300 Kroger supermarkets and quickly gained a reputation for its fast sell-throughs. Today, the brand expands into 1200 Target stores.MCoBeauty also has a new team member: former Real Housewife and current TikTok streamer Bethenny Frankel. The entrepreneur and influencer is the brand’s first-ever Chief Value Officer, where her duties include internal pricing audits along with public-facing social media posts. Frankel went live on TikTok to slam Walmart’s “Wirkin” dupe as “not elite” and “sloppy.” So why is she joining a brand known for copycat practices? Frankel says it’s simple: “Because brands that create affordable products with similar quality to the luxury ones make us realize how much we are being ripped off,” she told me. She calls MCoBeauty’s makeup “prestige dupes” that “give you the excitement and feeling of a luxury good” but cost less than a Sweetgreen protein bowl. For her first order of business, Frankel guided MCoBeauty through a “price restructuring” to ensure their Target offerings stayed under $15. Her partner in the project was MCoBeauty’s CMO Meridith Rojas, who founded the influencer event network Digitour in 2019. (Viacom acquired a stake of that company in 2019; she moved onto the cosmetics world in July of last year.) To secure the Target deal, Rojas showed up for her meeting with half her face in “$500 worth of makeup” and the other half in MCoBeauty dupes. She challenged Target’s beauty buyer to tell the difference. They could not. “There’s no longer any shame in buying a copy,” Rojas insists, “as long as the quality is there.”Of course, copycats can sometimes inflame copyrights. MCoBeauty was sued twice in 2021, first by Tarte for allegedly duping its Shape Tape concealer, and then by Aussie brand Chemcorp for a lash and brow dye set. Both times, the suits were settled out of court.Today, MCoBeauty shows no signs of slowing down its mirror-mirror strategy. The brand’s most popular products include Hydrate & Glow drops — packaged in the same silhouette as Glow Recipe’s Watermelon Glow drops — and Flawless Glow, a near-clone of Charlotte Tilbury’s Flawless Filter illuminator. Three months ago, a Reddit thread asked for “a definitive list” of MCoBeauty dupes, which also elicited comparisons to Dior Beauty, Drunk Elephant, and Laneige. Here’s a visual.Rojas says MCoBeauty is in the top three cosmetics brands at Kroger right now, edging out other affordable phenoms like Nyx and Covergirl. They also boast “some of the highest repeat purchase rates” on Amazon Beauty. Why are they winning? Rojas said, “People don’t just want a cheaper version of a luxury product. They want the applicator to feel like the ‘real’ thing. They want the heaviness of a glass bottle. And they want women like Bethenny who know what they’re talking about, and can buy whatever they want, but choose this because it’s the best value.”In that way, MCoBeauty is gunning for an equity of experience — the feel of the bottle, the swipe of the sponge tip, even the baby pink glimmer of the label — that might give them an edge as new and existing affordable brands double down on making dupes. It’s early January, which means brands are super-excited to drop the super-thick, “barrier-protecting” moisturising creams that you likely already own. In case you’d like more options, voila:Ilia Beauty launched its Barrier Build moisturiser on Jan. 7. It’s $64 and “clinically proven to reduce the look of redness, strengthen the skin barrier, and hydrate all day.” Mother Science introduced its Molecular Genesis Barrier Repair Moisturiser on Jan. 7 with malassezin, synthetic “growth factors,” copper peptides, and a $68 price tag. Ole Henriksen debuted its Après Skin Multi-Use Rich Rescue Crème on Jan. 7. Besides boasting two accent graves in its name, the moisturiser has “Scandinavian superberry oils” to treat distressed, dry skin. It’s $48.On Jan. 7, Credo Beauty made its bodycare debut with a wash, a serum, and a cream. All are infused with fermented sugar kelp extract harvested from Atlantic Sea Farms in Maine, along with sea water and spirulina. The products are $34 to $52 and took a decade to develop, thanks to the retailer’s stringent environmental guidelines. Elemis’s Pro Element Green Fig Cleansing Balm hit Sephora on Jan. 7. It’s $69 and claims to boost collagen while melting away makeup. Makeup Eraser launched its Silver-Infused Collection on Jan. 7. The tiny makeup scrubbers have pure silver threads for “advanced exfoliation” and “antibacterial properties” for $22.Fitness entrepreneur Amanda Kloots debuted a supplement brand called Proper on Jan. 7 with five color-coded categories (for example, immunity is orange and stress relief is lilac) that retail for $28 each. The brand is backed by The Center, the incubator fund that also counts Make Beauty, Prequel, and Saltair as members. Sulwhasoo has made its First Care serum available in a jumbo bottle for Lunar New Year; the package is stamped with a python-embossed pattern. It’s $170 at Sephora and Bloomingdale’s, and represents Year of the Snake’s ethos of renewal. Yes, you still need sunscreen in the winter. Atwater has a new one, called Skin Armor, with SPF 50, zinc oxide, and green tea extract. It’s $42. Solawave debuted its Red Light Special facial at Face Haus. It uses the gizmo brand’s infrared Skincare Wand to enhance results. Liz Flora called it: Milky body products are taking off. The latest is Naturium’s first-ever body serum, which launched as a D2C exclusive on Jan. 10. The bottle costs $22, boasts “plumper, firmer-looking” results, and uses Urea extract, which can help lock in moisture. I’ve tried it; it’s super-smoothing.Also in lactose land, Beekman 1802 has a new Milk Froth micellar water-gel that debuted on Jan. 6 for $29… but that brand is literally based out of a goat dairy in upstate New York, so it tracks a little more naturally.On Jan. 4, Kylie Cosmetics debuted Natural Blur, a powder foundation that comes in 30 shades and claims 30-hour endurance. (But again, please wash your face before you go to bed!) The formulation is great. It’s creamy, not cakey, and easy to blend. Naked dressing moves to the makeup bag? On Jan. 6, MAC texted its followers to “send nudes,” then dropped its Nude Collection, a cute range of lip shades in every colour of bare skin. Makeup By Mario rolled out its SuperShine lip gloss on Jan. 7. It comes in 11 shades and promises “glass-like shine” for $26. Hourglass is seeing red — but definitely not blood. The Venice, California company debuted its Phantom glossy balm in Red 0, a vegan scarlet shade that doesn’t contain any carmine, a popular cosmetic dye that comes from little cactus bugs. It’s $38, which seems expensive but apparently doesn’t deter fans: The brand says a Phantom gloss is sold every 30 seconds. Yes, it is time to start thinking about Valentine’s Day beauty launches. Dazzle Dry dropped its Lovestruck trio on Jan. 10 with $22 shades of metallic ruby, bubblegum pink, and shimmery silver. RŌZ debuted Evergreen Style Cream on Jan. 6, though both Emma Stone and Zoe Saldaña wore it to the Jan. 5 Golden Globes. It retails for $32 and claims the hold of a gel with the flexible and soft feel of a cream. The “slicked-back bun” chant of 2024 is now a product pipeline for 2025. L’Oréal Elnett’s Slick Back Cream arrived on Jan. 3; it’s the first new product from the Elnett franchise in over 10 years. The cream costs $16, and reinforces both the “slick-back” TikTok trend and the power of proper grammar. Without the hyphen, “slick back”sounds a bit like a lotion to make your lats and traps slippery. That could be really sexy, but perhaps not germane to a tight chignon.Nous dropped a dry shampoo on Jan. 7 with SPF 30 for scalp and strand protection. It’s $28 and comes with a powder-puff applicator that seems de rigueur for the category now. But can you recycle it?Like a college freshman right before sorority rush, Eva NYC decided to completely reinvent itself for 2025. The affordable haircare brand dropped seven new products on Jan. 8, including shampoos, conditioners, a split-end serum, and a dry shampoo. Everything is under $20 and can be found at Target and CVS.Phlur got a fragrance credit at the Golden Globes red carpet on Jan. 5. Rachel Brosnahan wore the brand’s new Golden Rule eau de parfum, which has mandarin orange, coconut milk, and jasmine notes. Back in the indie sleaze era, Paper magazine used to give every celebrity cover a fragrance credit along with fashion credits, ostensibly to keep advertisers happy. I believe this practice was the brainchild of editorial director Mickey Boardman and marketer Drew Elliott, who now helms lots of important stuff at MAC. Literie’s latest home fragrance candle, Sleeping in Yoga Class, launched Jan. 6. It’s $45 and smells like lavender. PR agency The Lede Company, whose portfolio includes celebrities, consumer goods and celebrities who sell consumer goods, announced its representation of D.S. & Durga on Jan. 6. This seems smart for a fragrance brand so buzzy, it’s practically a breakout Sundance actor. Demi Moore gave Lede a shoutout in her Golden Globes acceptance speech; they also represent Clinique and Glow Recipe. On Jan. 8, Dolce & Gabbana launched Devotion For Men. The fragrance is $121, with notes of coffee, lemon, and patchouli that is “inspired by the Sicilian tradition of adding a twist of lemon to a cup of espresso.” It’s easy to rag on D&G for their truly over-the-top messaging, and reasonable to shun them for their past behaviour. Still, this is a very nice way to describe a scent!Just in case you didn’t get your nativity scene fill over Christmas, Amouage has amped up its frankincense content. On Jan. 7, they introduced Purpose 50 Exceptional Extrait, a super-concentrated formula that contains 50% fragrance concentration. If the Little Drummer Boy can’t wait you up, try this $520 aroma.Did you see Urban Decay’s cameo in Doechii’s brilliant “Denial is a River” video? The Sabrina Carpenter school of sponcon reigns supreme! Source link

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norajworld · 23 days ago

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ellajme0 · 23 days ago

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elfwreck · 3 months ago

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From the article:

At issue in the case are more than 418,000 units of certain children’s sleepwear garments, carbon monoxide detectors, and hair dryers that were sold to consumers on Amazon.com through the FBA program between approximately 2018 and 2021.

For the purposes of this proceeding, the parties stipulated that the products posed a substantial product hazard under CPSA Sections (a) and (j), after CPSC testing found that:

The children’s sleepwear garments did not meet the requirements for children’s sleepwear as required by the Flammable Fabrics Act.

The carbon monoxide detectors failed to detect CO2 gas and failed to alarm in its presence.

The hair dryers lacked required immersion protection required by applicable commission rules.

In its response to Complaint Counsel’s allegations, Amazon argued that the company, under its FBA program, is not a “distributor” of the products at issue but rather a “third-party logistics provider”....

Amazon tried to claim that since it doesn't have the items in its warehouses, it can't be a "distributor." The Commission threw that out, and mentioned:

Further, the Commission emphasized the “far-reaching control Amazon exercises in its Fulfilled by Amazon program,” including:

Screening products for eligibility in the FBA program

Communicating directly with customers and providing live customer support for FBA purchases

Determining whether products may be returned or exchanged by customers and the disposition of returned merchandise

Controlling communications between FBA participants and customers, requiring sellers to communicate exclusively through Amazon’s online platform

Exercising control over pricing and payments by enforcing pricing rules, processing customer payments, and authorizing refunds and exchanges

Amazon doesn't just coordinate between buyers & sellers; it puts a lot of constraints on what can be bought and how it can be sold, and that made it a distributor.

(Etsy and eBay are likely "third-party logistics providers." Other than having a few rules about what can't be sold on their platform, they don't mess with prices, quality levels, returns, or refunds.)

Note that this was focused only on product safety, not the rest of Amazon's shitty business practices. But it means they're liable for unsafe products, which means they'll have to do a LOT more review of third-party products selling through their site. I don't know what it means for mislabeled products or wrong-thing-delivered cases, but it probably at least means "easier to get refunds for those."

...If we're really lucky, they're now liable for false advertising claims for all those "the listing said this was red; I received a green dress" cases.

god i hope the cpsc takes the shot. i think this would dramatically change their entire business model. amazon makes so much money by selling defective or mislabeled or just plain dangerous products and then faces little liability because this stuff is actually being sold by random third-party sellers that don't get vetted at all and can be hard to prosecute because they're in china or wherever. this is a big part of what makes amazon so powerful and it would be good for everyone if they were forced to bear more responsibility for the damages caused by the crap available on their website

#corporate sleaze #amazon

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chilimili212 · 23 days ago

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oliviajoyice21 · 23 days ago

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rohitpalan · 1 month ago

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Global E-Tailing Solutions Market: Valued at $12 Billion in 2020 with a Projected CAGR of 14% (2020-2030)

As per the findings Future Market Insight, the global e-tailing solutions market estimated to reach US$ 5 Bn in 2020 and is anticipated to exhibit a CAGR of 14.2% during the forecast period of 2020 to 2030. E-tailing, which is driven by e-commerce platforms, will be the backbone of the market, supporting its growth through the pandemic.

The adoption of the e-commerce platform in enterprises provide benefits for business to customer (B2C) and business to business (B2B) models, resulting in high conversion rate, constant growth, market stability, and long-term partnerships. E-tailing business models are expected to be in the spotlight as businesses grapple to come to terms with the ongoing pandemic.

Analysts predict that physical shops will be speedily replaced by horizontal sellers such as Amazon and eBay, who sell across wide range of verticals. Wider product ranges and aggressive discounting policies will undeniably be the strongest growth drivers for the market.

“The e-tailing market in South Asia and Pacific is expected to grow at a high CAGR during the forecast period due to the increasing penetration of third-party logistics, especially in India. Also, the increase in online grocery shopping is creating a huge channel for growth with millions of households depending on safety and comfort. “Says an FMI analyst.

Key Takeaways of E-tailing Market Study • E-tailing solutions market to see exponential growth in South Asia & Pacific with growing horizontal players • Machine learning and artificial intelligence algorithms for improved predictive analysis of consumer behavior to enhance profitability of e-tailing vendors • Food & beverages segment anticipated to retain its leading share of 31% by the end of 2030 • Improved transport and logistics with IoT, blockchain technology, and smart contracts to pave way for smooth progress for e-tailing across the globe

COVID-19 Pandemic Impact Analysis on E-tailing Market The 2020 COVID-19 outbreak marked a tipping point for adoption of the e-tailing solution providers. B2B and B2C online sales of goods experienced an exponential surge demand. From groceries to protective gears, the e-tailing market stood stoic in during the pandemic, catering to the skyrocketing need of the hour.

Between 2018-2019, the e-tailing solutions market grew by almost 17% globally. Despite circumstances being in favor of this market it is expected to experience a drop of 200-250 BPS in 2020 due to strict lockdowns and travel bans. According to FMI, the e-tailing solutions market will recover in Q3 2020 as economy limps back to a new normal. Analysts predict a 20%- 30% increase in market revenue by 2021 as online sales gain an unprecedented momentum with continued social distancing.

IoT, Blockchain, and Big Data to Define Success for E-Tailing E-tailing firms around the world are adopting new technologies such as big data analytics, Internet of Things (IoT), blockchain technology, and fleet management software management to achieve operational efficiency. Offering real-time communication to the end consumer has been the crucial component of establishing steady clientele. Customer’s journey from browsing for products to final delivery uses various smart technologies that depend on sophisticated analytics for a rich experience.

Several big players in the market have enhanced their consumer experience with segmentation marketing. E-tailing has significantly relied on Big Data to break down complex consumer behaviors to provide exceptionally customized search results and better services. In the coming years, the progress of e-tailing market will be determined by optimum usage of analytics to reach out to consumer with the best services.

Competitive Analysis Some major companies are Oracle, SAP, Shopify Inc., Salesforce.com, Inc., Digital River, Inc. Wix.com, Inc., WooCommerce, BigCommerce Pty. Ltd., eComchain, Craigslist Magento (Adobe), Elastic Path Software Inc., Episerver, Unilog Content Solutions Pvt. Ltd., Sitecore, Kooomo, SaaS Ltd, Skava, VTEX, Kentico Software.

#E-Tailing Solutions Market

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ausetkmt · 2 months ago

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Trump and Biden signal emerging fight over future of Postal Service

With a little more than a month to go before Inauguration Day, President-elect Donald Trump and President Joe Biden both took steps Monday that could affect the future of the U.S. Postal Service.

Trump nodded toward a possible move to privatize the Postal Service at a news conference at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida.

Asked about the agency, Trump said privatization was “not the worst idea I’ve ever heard,” adding that “we’re looking” at it.

“There is talk about that. It’s an idea that a lot of people have liked for a long time,” he said.

Privatizing the Postal Service would affect hundreds of thousands of jobs and risk upending a system that, founded in 1775, is older than the U.S. itself.

Though the Postal Service is a government agency with federal employees, it relies primarily on its own commercial activities for funding, like selling postage, products and services.

The Postal Service did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Trump's remarks.

Any effort to privatize the agency would require approval from its Board of Governors, made up of 11 members and led by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, who was appointed during Trump's first term in office. Members are nominated by the president and must be confirmed by the Senate.

Biden on Monday announced his intent to renominate Anton Hajjar to the Board of Governors — a move that would require quick action by Democrats to confirm him before Republicans take control of the Senate in the first week of January.

Hajjar previously served on the Postal Service board. Biden nominated him in 2021, and the Senate confirmed him in a voice vote, indicating little to no opposition. Hajjar served out the rest of a term that expired last December. If the Senate confirms his renomination, his new term would last seven years.

Hajjaris a former general counsel of the American Postal Workers Union, representing unions and union workers.

Biden’s intention to nominate Hajjar is an attempt to leverage control over the highly popular agency, which has not been profitable since 2006. The Postal Service ranks second only to the National Park Service in popularity among government entities, according to a survey this year by the Pew Research Center.

Trump has been openly critical of the agency, calling it a “joke” that “loses massive amounts of money.” While he was in office during the Covid pandemic, Trump opposed extending help to the agency and threatened to veto congressional measures that included aid for it.

DeJoy's appointment by the Postal Service’s Board of Governors in 2020 resulted in an unveiling of a 10-year plan to overhaul the post office to address financial hardship and “modernize the Postal Service.”

Republicans more broadly have expressed discontent with the Postal Service, calling it “bloated, mismanaged and unaccountable.” GOP lawmakers grilled DeJoy at a House Oversight Committee hearing this month, saying that people in the U.S. are enduring poor service and that the Postal Service is “hemorrhaging red ink.”

Democrats have opposed privatization, with Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., recently telling The Washington Post that privatization “is our big fear.”

Ultimately, the Board of Governors, Biden’s pick, Hajjar, among them if he is confirmed, would decide the fate of the agency and whether the service — which provides private companies such as Amazon, FedEx and UPS with “last-mile” service in rural areas — is privatized or not.

CORRECTION (Dec. 17, 2024, 3:25 p.m. ET): A previous version of this article misstated who appointed Louis DeJoy postmaster general. It was the Postal Service’s Board of Governors, not President-elect Donald Trump during his first term.

#Trump and Biden signal emerging fight over future of Postal Service #usps #the us mail #.

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trendingreportz · 6 months ago

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Augmented Reality & Virtual Reality Market for Commerce Industry - Forecast(2024 - 2030)

AR and VR in Commerce Market Overview

The market for AR and VR in Commerce is forecast to reach $3.2 billion by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 28.4% from 2021 to 2026. The market is driven by increasing popularity of Augmented & Virtual Reality Devices due to better user engagement with high recall rate. The commerce industry saw a huge change when e-commerce concept gained mass adoption. Prominent companies such as Walmart, Blockbuster suffered when people began purchasing products online, and players such as Amazon, eBay and Netflix gathered the majority of market share. Augmented reality and virtual reality could become an extension to e-commerce. For example, recently, IKEA launched an application called “IKEA Place” which allows users to view the furniture products as if they were placed in the user’s home. This would help speed up the purchase decision process. Although this technology is not expected to reach the heights of success as that of e-commerce, it will still be vital going forward.

Report Coverage

The report: “AR and VR in Commerce Market– Forecast (2021-2026)”, by IndustryARC covers an in-depth analysis of the following segments of the AR and VR in Commerce Market.

By Type – AR (Software and Services), VR (Software and Services)

By Platform – Head Mounted Display, Head Up Display, Handheld Device, Mobile Devices, Projector and Wall Display.

By End Use Industry – Tourism, Retail, E-Commerce and Advertisement.

By Geography - North America (U.S, Canada, Mexico), South America(Brazil, Argentina and others), Europe (Germany, UK, France, Italy, Spain, Russia and Others), APAC(China, Japan India, SK, Aus and Others), and RoW (Middle east and Africa).

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Key Takeaways

Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality has opened up new avenues for Commerce Industry. V-Commerce (Virtual Commerce, which is Augmented and Virtual Reality integrated Commerce) has brought in quite a remarkable change in the online retail world, as Augmented Reality doesn't require or requires less hardware and requires devices that most people are familiar with such as tablets and smartphones.

Both Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality technically elaborates the scope of E-Commerce and took the interaction to a whole new level altogether.

As per IndustryARC research, more than 60% of online shoppers prefer to purchase items that offer Augmented Reality on websites in one way or the other. It’s inarguable fact that both Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality has increased user interaction for many companies and helped them to upsurge their user base.

AR and VR in Commerce Market Segment Analysis - By Platform

In Platform Segment, mobile phones stood as the fastest growing subset with an estimated CAGR of 35% during the forecast period. MAR (Mobile Augmented Reality) is expected to account for more than 52% of AR Application Market by 2026. The significant focus of companies in developing MAR solutions is expected to drive market growth. Facebook will be providing users an augmented reality experience via advertisements in the application. Users of the application may view fashion goods such as eye glasses and shoes, and try them on virtually. Many other companies have similarly developed solutions focused on the mobile market particularly for E-Commerce application.

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AR and VR in Commerce Market Segment Analysis - By End Use Industry

AR and VR in commerce sector is driven by rising number of AR solutions focused on the E-Commerce market. Augmented Commerce is currently being used by various retailers to sell their products such as IKEA (Furniture), Converse (Shoes), eBay (FMCG), Amazon (FMCG), etc. Augmented Commerce could be used by organizations to allow users to try games, clothes, furniture, cars, etc. before purchase. People could view what a flat would look like (and features like paint and furniture) by walking around through the application, and another application allows users to view the interior and exterior of various cars. Google has made a huge investment in an ecommerce giant that was making use of augmented reality technology to boost its sales. Google has previously invested in companies that are developing upcoming technology such as DeepMind AI. Similar investments are expected from organizations that want to leverage the technology for their operations.

AR and VR in Commerce Market Segment Analysis - By Geography

North America region holds the largest market share in the Artificial Intelligence in Commerce Market at 42% in 2020. However, APAC witnesses highest growth during the forecast period and is expected to reach. Americas Artificial Intelligence in Commerce market is mainly driven by the higher penetration of the AR and VR technology among the tech savvy people. The key applications including Tourism, E-learning, and E-commerce among others.

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AR and VR in Commerce Market Drivers

Rising Investment from Market Leaders

The market for AR and VR is rising due to increased investment from market leading players. Facebook integrating augmented reality ads into its application: Facebook will be providing users an augmented reality experience via advertisements in the application. Users of the application may view fashion goods such as eye glasses and shoes, and try them on virtually.

IKEA introduced an AR app named Place, which enables Apple users to set IKEA furniture in their apartments and preview an interior before buying products. Thanks to this solution potential customers can choose furniture easier.. eBay collaborated with local firm to open virtual stores in Australia. eBay was one of the first movers in the market, when the industry began developing applications for this technology. Amazon is also offering VR experiences in select cities. Amazon is trialling VR with a view to boost their Prime Day sales. Another e-commerce giant, eBay did the same in 2016 in Australia. We can expect these big players raise the awareness of the technology through such events before potential app launches thus driving market awareness and thereby the market.

Rising Focus on Improving Customer Experience

Augmented Reality & Virtual Reality is a perfect mix of technologies to engage a customer. A memorable happy experience often leads to a satisfied customer. AR/VR technologies are likely to give an enriching experience to the customer which increases the chances of customer satisfaction significantly. As this technology is meant to make it easy and memorable for customers and it is likely to have an upper hand in leading to satisfied customers for companies as well. Customer engagement and Interactivity is not only required after onboarding the customer but is important to aware and attract as well. These AR/VR technologies can extensively be used as marketing tools to spread awareness about a product. This enhanced customer experience offered through AR and VR solutions will drive market growth.

AR and VR in Commerce Market Challenges

Lack of Awareness of AR Content

The biggest challenge with AR is the lack of awareness of AR content from consumers. AR and VR content can come in many forms, and this could be a cause for confusion. There’s still not much clarity over whether consumers are aware these tools are available to them, or if they realize they’re engaging with AR or VR when they use them. In a recent research study conducted by GWI in the UK and U.S., we found that over 90% of consumers in these markets are aware of VR, with around 65% saying they’re aware of AR. Awareness of AR hovers between the 70-75% mark among the 16-44 age group, but drops dramatically among 45-54s (56%) and 55-64s (44%). By gender, males (71%) display a notably higher level of awareness of AR compared to women (59%). This has resulted in limited focus on the AR market especially for applications outside gaming.

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Market Landscape

Product launches, acquisitions, and R&D activities are key strategies adopted by players in the AR and VR market in Commerce. Key Companies operating in the market include Amazon, Ikea, Facebook, Sephora, BMW, Harley Davidson, Sotheby and various other companies.

Acquisitions/Technology Launches/Partnerships

Amazon is trialing VR in a few selected cities in India, with a view to boost their Prime Day sales.

Facebook will be providing users an augmented reality experience via advertisements in the application. Users of the application may view fashion goods such as eye glasses and shoes, and try them on virtually.

#Augmented Reality & Virtual Reality market for commerce industry Market #Augmented Reality & Virtual Reality market for commerce industry Market size #Augmented Reality & Virtual Reality market for commerce industry industry #Augmented Reality & Virtual Reality market for commerce industry Market share #Augmented Reality & Virtual Reality market for commerce industry top 10 companies #Augmented Reality & Virtual Reality market for commerce industry Market report #Augmented Reality & Virtual Reality market for commerce industry industry outlook

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