Amazon calls 2016 holiday season its best ever; shares rise

NEW YORK - Amazon.com Inc. said it shipped more than 1 billion items worldwide this holiday season, which the top online retailer called its best ever, and its shares rose 1.6 percent in afternoon trade.

The Amazon Echo home assistant and its smaller version, Echo Dot, topped the best-sellers list, said Jeff Wilke, chief executive of Amazon's worldwide consumer division, in a press release.

"Despite our best efforts and ramped-up production, we still had trouble keeping them in stock," he said.

Sales of voice-controlled Echo devices were nine times more than they were during last year's holiday season, the company said. Amazon did not disclose comparable sales figures from a year earlier.

"It's all relative to other numbers that they’ve never told us," said analyst Jan Dawson of Jackdaw Research.

Amazon likely sold between 4 million and 5 million devices this year to date with Alexa, the voice-controlled assistant on the Echo, estimated Morningstar analyst R.J. Hottovy in a research note. Shoppers can command the Echo to perform a host of tasks, from playing music to turning on Christmas lights.

"While Amazon's device sales are still relatively small growth drivers currently, we believe the proliferation of these devices will drive more ubiquitous use of Amazon services over time," said Baird Equity Research analyst Colin Sebastian in a note, pointing to customers ordering more items by speaking to the Echo.

More than 72 percent of Amazon's customers worldwide shopped through mobile devices, the company added, and Dec. 19 was the busiest shopping day this holiday season.

"Prime customers are spending twice as much as other consumers using Amazon and helping to fuel rapid revenue growth that few retailers with only a fraction of Amazon's revenues are able to generate," Retail Metrics President Ken Perkins wrote in a note last week.

Alexa and Amazon Dash, a one-button ordering service, are making it easier for shoppers to "skip the trip," and will put more pressure on rival retailers as they try to garner in-store and web traffic, Perkins said.

Other best sellers on Amazon included 72-pack Keurig K-Cups, the movie "Finding Dory," Samsung Electronics Co Ltd's Gear VR virtual reality headset and Nintendo Co Ltd's Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon role-playing video games, the company said.

Amazon shares rose $12.33, or 1.6 percent, trading at $772.92 at 1:58 p.m. EST (18:58 GMT).

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Apple hones marketing for Watch with focus on fitness

SAN FRANCISCO -- Two years after unveiling the Apple Watch with apps and styles that tried to appeal to every need and every customer, Apple Inc. has honed its marketing strategy, debuting a second generation product aimed squarely at the health and athletic audience.

The focus on fitness will enhance the watch's appeal to its core audience but also cements its status as a niche device, analysts said.

"Apple is responding to what has resonated with customers," said analyst Jan Dawson of Jackdaw Research. "The problem is there are only so many people who want to wear a health and fitness device. If they want this to be really massive, they're going to have to go broader."

The first new device released under CEO Tim Cook, the Apple Watch has not attracted a mass audience, selling 1.6 million units in the second quarter, down more than half from a year ago, in the run-up to the new version, IDC data showed.

Apple's original pitch touted the ability to send doodles, make phone calls and track fitness, while the company described it as essentially a fashion accessory.

But at a San Francisco launch event on Wednesday, where the iPhone 7 also debuted, Apple Watch videos, advertisements and demos focused narrowly on features for health enthusiasts, with the notable exception of a Pokemon Go app.

The new Watch starts at $369, includes a GPS chip, and is waterproof. Apple designed a special edition with sports giant Nike Inc.

Exercise buffs on social media cheered the new features, particularly the internal GPS system designed for runners who want to track workouts without dragging along their phones.

"At last Apple Watch is something I can use as a runner," Ian Bignell (@eyan_b) wrote on Twitter.

Still, the device is likely to remain a niche offering, said Colin Gillis, an analyst with BGC Partners.

"It's becoming a more interesting product, but it is not going to be able to meaningfully impact the bottom line if iPhones slow down," Gillis said.

Apple has not broken out Watch sales, but Wall Street analysts suspect it is a small and growing contributor. Sanford Bernstein analyst Toni Sacconaghi estimates the watch will generate $4.1 billion in revenue for Apple this year, up from $2.7 billion in 2015.

IDC analyst Ryan Reith called the new version a "great incremental improvement" and predicted it would outsell the first version, in part because of its appeal to the fitness audience. But he said it faced challenges, such as competing with smartphones for consumer spending.

While the focus on fitness helps, Apple still needs a breakthrough app to nudge the smartwatch into the mainstream - and it remains unlikely to find it in Pokemon Go, the popular augmented reality game that is coming to the gadget later this year, Gillis said.

"The killer app for the watch remains to be seen," he said.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com