| From: Glenn Petersen | 12/11/2019 10:15:26 AM | | | | | | Canalys: Amazon shipped 10.4 million smart speakers in Q3 2019, almost tripling Google
Kyle Wiggers @Kyle_L_Wiggers
VentureBeat
November 12:30 PM
Above: Amazon Echo Dot Clock
Image Credit: Khari Johnson / VentureBeat
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The global smart speaker market is on the upswing, according to Canalys, which today released shipment estimates for the most recent fiscal quarter. The firm reports the segment grew 44% to reach 28.6 million units in Q3 2019, coinciding with substantial growth in the smart display category.
Amazon shipped 10.4 million smart speakers in Q3 2019 for a 36.6% share of the market this quarter, up from 6.3 million units in Q3 2018 (a 31.9% share). That put it well ahead of rival Google, which managed to get 3.5 million devices out the door this quarter (for a 12.3% share) versus 5.9 million units in Q3 2018 (29.8%).
As for Baidu and Alibaba, the latter notched 3.9 million units shipped in Q3 2019 (for a 13.6% share of the smart speaker market), up from 2.2 million in Q3 2018 (11.1%), while Baidu sold through to consumers 3.7 million units in Q3 2019 (for a 13.1% share), up from 1 million units in Q3 2018 (4.9%). (Last quarter, Baidu topped both Google and Alibaba by total global shipments.) Xiaomi was a distant fifth this quarter, with 3.4 million devices shipped (for a 12% share), compared with 1.9 million devices in Q3 2018 (9.7%).
Above: Smart speaker shipments for Q3 2019 by vendor.
Image Credit: Canalys
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Canalys senior analyst Jason Low attributed Amazon’s strong showing to its recently introduced Echo Upgrade Program, which lets users trade in old Echo or non-Echo Bluetooth speakers for newer models at a discounted price. He added that Alibaba’s Tmall Genie devices likely performed well partly because of Alibaba’s collaborations with brands like Starbucks, Budweiser, Abbott, Oreo, and others, which set them apart from products from Baidu and Xiaomi.
Of course, it’s worth noting that while Baidu might ship as many devices as its competitors, its DuerOS natural language platform continues to grow at an exponential rate. The install base recently passed 400 million as voice queries topped 3.6 billion, up from 150 million voice queries last November and 100 million last August (when DuerOS reached the 800 million-query mark).
“Low-priced devices are vital growth drivers for smart displays and heated competition ahead of the Q4 shopping season is expected,” added Low in a statement. “It is crucial, especially for Chinese vendors, to avoid falling victim to the sunk-cost fallacy, in which they have to stop money-burning to achieve shipment goals, but instead focus on their overall business objectives and to generate revenue soon.”
On the smart display side of things, the category grew 500% globally to reach 6.3 million units in Q3 2019, with Amazon nabbing second place with 2.2 million devices sold. That’s compared with Baidu’s 2.3 million units, Google’s 0.7 million, and Xiaomi’s 0.6 million.
“The Echo Show 5 smart display contributed significantly to Amazon’s success in Q3, making up 16% of Amazon’s overall global shipments and it became the best shipping smart display of all the brands,” said Canalys research analyst Cynthia Chen. “Despite smart displays gaining importance in vendors’ strategies, consumer price sensitivity and pragmatic use cases remain key challenges to be solved.”
In April, Canalys predicted that the global smart speaker market would top 200 million units by the end of this year. Assuming that comes to pass, it’d roughly double the circa-2018 market’s 114 million units. Specifically, the firm expects the U.S. will retain its installed base lead but that China, South Korea, and Japan will see 166% growth (from about 20 million units to 59.9 million units), 132% growth, and 131% growth, respectively. Elsewhere, it’s projecting Canada’s smart speaker market will grow 80%, followed by Germany’s installed base with 49% growth and the U.K.’s with 47%.
Analysts at Markets and Markets anticipate the overall segment will be worth $11.79 billion by 2023.
venturebeat.com
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| From: Glenn Petersen | 12/14/2019 9:48:16 AM | | | | | | Watch out, UPS. Morgan Stanley estimates Amazon is already delivering half of its packages
Published Thu, Dec 12 201911:24 AM EST
Updated Thu, Dec 12 20192:43 PM EST
CNBC.com
Michael Sheetz @thesheetztweetz
Key Points
- Amazon Logistics is the e-commerce giant's in-house logistics operation.
- "Our AlphaWise analysis shows that Amazon Logistics already delivers ~50% of Amazon US volumes, focused on urban areas," Morgan Stanley said.
- The firm estimates Amazon Logistics will reach a volume of 6.5 billion packages per year by 2022, far exceeding its estimate for UPS at 5 billion packages per year and FedEx at 3.4 billion packages per year.
Amazon is already delivering about half of its own packages in the U.S., according to a Morgan Stanley estimate on Thursday, and will soon pass both United Parcel Service and FedEx in total volume.
"Our AlphaWise analysis shows that Amazon Logistics already delivers ~50% of Amazon US volumes, focused on urban areas," Morgan Stanley said.
Amazon Logistics is the e-commerce giant's in-house logistics operation. Morgan Stanley said Amazon Logistics "more than doubled its share" of U.S. package volumes from about 20% a year ago and is now shipping at a rate of 2.5 billion per year. For comparison, Morgan Stanley estimates UPS and FedEx have U.S. shipping volumes of 4.7 billion and 3 billion packages per year, respectively."
"We see more of this going forward as our new bottom-up US package model assumes Amazon Logistics US packages grow at a 68% [compound annual growth rate from 2018 to 2022]," Morgan Stanley said.
That would put Amazon Logistics at 6.5 billion packages per year by 2022, according to the firm, far exceeding its estimate for UPS at 5 billion packages per year and FedEx at 3.4 billion packages per year.
"To us, Amazon Logistics is already-large scale and with a fleet ~1/5 the size of competitors, it speaks to its ability to use density and technology to drive efficiency," Morgan Stanley said.
20% upside?
The firm says Amazon Logistics is more focused than its competitors on densely populated areas. According to Morgan Stanley's estimate, about 61% of Amazon Logistics' package volumes are from suburban areas, 28% are from urban areas, and just 11% are from rural areas. That makes Amazon Logistics' rural focus about half of its competitors, as the rest of the industry typically derives 20% of package volume from rural areas, the firm said.
Morgan Stanley has an overweight rating on Amazon shares, with a $2,100 price target that is nearly 20% above the stock's current level.
The firm also lowered its price target on both UPS shares to $78 from $85 — about 33% below its current price — and FedEx shares to $111 from $120 — which would be a drop of about 32% from current levels. Morgan Stanley has an underweight rating on UPS and an equal-weight rating on FedEx.
— CNBC's Michael Bloom contributed to this report.
cnbc.com
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| From: Sr K | 12/18/2019 3:36:01 PM | | | | | | 3:24 PM
AMAZON SAYS BUILDING PROJECT KUIPER RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT HEADQUARTERS IN REDMOND, WA |
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| From: Glenn Petersen | 12/19/2019 9:24:02 AM | | | | | | Amazon flexes its formidable shipping arm
Erica Pandey
Axios
December 19, 2019
After conquering e-commerce and cloud computing, Amazon is claiming its spot at the very top of the massive shipping industry this holiday season.
Why it matters: Logistics might make your eyes glaze over, but it's one of the key businesses of the future — and it could become Amazon's next windfall. The industry is already worth $1.5 trillion, and it'll get even bigger as more and more people order everything online.
By the numbers: Cyber Monday was Amazon's highest volume shopping day ever. And Americans will spend a record $135 billion online in November and December, Spencer Soper writes in Bloomberg's tech newsletter today.
What's happening: Amazon is already the leading shipper of its own packages (delivering about 48% of them). The tech giant is adding vans, jets, workers and warehouses to become an even more formidable shipper.
Amazon's rise is putting legacy shippers at risk. After brushing off the e-commerce giant as a competitor for years, FedEx CEO Fred Smith called it a threat this year.
-- The two companies have cut ties. FedEx chose not to renew its ground and air delivery contracts with Amazon.
-- And just this week, Amazon — which is consumers' most-trusted brand to deliver their holiday gifts in time — is banning its third-party sellers from using FedEx for ground deliveries. It's effectively a no-confidence vote in FedEx, writes Soper.
-- FedEx reported weaker-than-expected earnings this week and revised its 2020 earnings outlook down. The stock is down around 10% today. The stakes: Amazon is already the subject of antitrust investigations in the U.S. and Europe, and its shipping prowess could strengthen opponents' arguments.
-- "Given its scale & dominance of this market, Amazon is essentially operating as a regulator of shipping companies," notes Stacy Mitchell, co-director of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, a nonprofit research and advocacy group that opposes concentrated economic power. axios.com |
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| From: Sr K | 12/23/2019 5:31:35 PM | | | | | | | Amazon's One-Day Shipping Will Distance It From Competitors, Piper Says -- Barrons.com |
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| From: Sr K | 12/23/2019 5:37:11 PM | | | | | | Amazon's One-Day Shipping Will Distance It From Competitors, Piper Says
Piper Jaffray analyst Micheal J. Olson reiterated his Overweight rating for Amazon ..
-- Barrons.com |
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