Amazon’s new Alexa-powered tool for hospitals and senior living centers keeps providers and patients more connected—a sign Amazon wants a bigger piece of the senior care market.

Amazon has trumpeted its investment in electric vehicles, announcing a purchase of 1,800 electric Mercedes vans for European use in August 2020. But Amazon’s ability to fund such purchases is perhaps unique among regional online retailers. And electric vans still deliver just a fraction of Amazon orders.

., Amazon devices worked with Alexa, Google devices with Google Home, Apple devices with HomeKit, and Samsung devices with SmartThings. As of Q1 2021, no single ecosystem controlled more than a third of the market, at least when measured by app downloads, according to Sensor Tower data.

Some retailers—notably Amazon—have CTV platforms, so their ability to serve ads cuts across retail and entertainment verticals. Profit margins for digital advertising are generally higher than for in-store or online retail. For all these reasons, we consider retail media the latest big wave in digital advertising, following search, social, and video.

Amazon is maneuvering to become a dominant player in direct-to-consumer healthcare services, beginning with its online pharmacy and telehealth services for its employees. It may acquire more healthcare delivery outlets, such as primary care and urgent care clinics. Entrenched industry players are watching carefully.

Big Tech rivals, like Apple, Microsoft, Google, and Amazon, seeking to compete in the XR space will likely pursue a whole-widget approach—creating their own OS, hardware, and applications—which could provide a better experience than Meta’s Android-dependent solution.

Amazon employees continue to protest working conditions: Amazon workers in the Chicago area walked off their jobs several days before Christmas to demand higher wages and longer break times, Insider reported. In a video, one worker complained the company was acting as if the pandemic had ended, despite several employees having tested positive.

For brands and retailers in some categories, Amazon is a significant channel for ecommerce sales. And that often means paying for prime placement on Amazon properties, including in search results. We estimate Amazon will have earned 72% of its $9.85 billion in net US digital ad revenues from search ads in 2019.

On today's episode, we discuss why shoppers like livestream shopping, why brands are keen to get involved, why it took off in China, and why it hasn't had as much success in the West—yet. We then talk about when Amazon Prime Day might be this year, Amazon considering opening a chain of discount stores, the top reason for online grocery shopping, and the places people typically begin their search when shopping for a product online. Tune in to the discussion with eMarketer senior researcher Man-Chung Cheung and analyst at Insider Intelligence Daniel Keyes.

Historically, most marketers have equated search with general search engines—especially Google. But many of consumers’ most commercially oriented queries are entered directly on retail sites. And for the most part, that means Amazon.

Neither Google nor Amazon launched consumer wealth management products. Big Tech firms boast huge customer bases and are already building the digital infrastructure wealth managers need, which puts them in a good position to become a one-stop shop for consumers’ financial needs.

Why it’s worth watching: Now, companies like Google, Apple, Amazon, and Samsung are joining forces with more than 200 companies to champion a new standard that promises to solve smart home interoperability.

A majority share of consumers are now taking to marketplaces first when shopping online. According an August 2020 survey from ecommerce ad agency ChannelAdvisor conducted by Dynata, 53% of US adults said they began product searches at Amazon when planning to make a digital purchase.