E-Commerce Minute

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E-Commerce Minute: Tuesday -- January 19, 2016

The E-Commerce Times -- E-Business Means Business
http://www.ecommercetimes.com
Part of the ECT News Network

Headline Scan
In the Shadow of the Amazon Prime Juggernaut
WhatsApp Scraps Fee Model
IDC: There's Hope on the PC Horizon
Foursquare Shifts Gears
iAd Shakeup May Be in the Works

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Today's Story Highlights

In the Shadow of the Amazon Prime Juggernaut
When Amazon launched Prime Day six months ago, skeptics came out in
force to criticize what they considered Jeff Bezos' desperate ploy to
add members to a club that appeared to be peaking in a saturated
domestic market. Gimmick or not, Prime Day worked. Amazon sold more than
34.4 million items across eight countries where Prime was offered, and
its Q3 profits defied just about all prior estimates.
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/82998.html

WhatsApp Scraps Fee Model
WhatsApp on Monday announced that it would drop the annual subscription
fee and allow people to use the service for free. Company founder Jan
Koum announced the move at the DLD Conference in Munich. While more than
900 million people worldwide use WhatsApp to stay in touch with family
and friends, the $1-a-year subscription fee could be a barrier to
further growth, he said.
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/82996.html

IDC: There's Hope on the PC Horizon
IDC last week reported worldwide PC shipments totaled nearly 72 million
units in the fourth quarter of 2015, down 10.6 percent year over year --
the largest YoY decline ever. While shipments in Q4 were slightly higher
than in Q3, 2015 was the first year since 2008 that fewer than 300
million PCs were shipped. Longer PC life cycles and economic issues
contributed to the poor results.
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/82993.html

Foursquare Shifts Gears
Foursquare cofounder Dennis Crowley has assumed a new executive role,
and the company has raised $45 million in a new round of funding led by
Union Square Ventures. Crowley has moved from his perch as CEO into the
newly created position of executive chairman, which will let him focus
on developing new products. Jeff Glueck, who served as COO for the past
year, has taken the CEO helm.
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/82992.html

iAd Shakeup May Be in the Works
Apple is phasing out its iAd sales team and moving toward an automated
system, according to news reports this week. Then-CEO Steve Jobs
launched iAd six years ago to provide an alternative to existing mobile
advertising platforms, but it never caught fire. Under the new iAd
platform, publishers reportedly will be more easily able to sell
directly through the platform.
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/82988.html

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