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An Amazon worker moves boxes on Amazon Prime Day in the East Village of New York City, July 11, 2023. The Federal Trade Commission on Wednesday updated its complaint against Amazon for its "deceptive" Prime sign-up and cancellation processes, adding three senior executives as defendants. Top Amazon executives overseeing Prime downplayed employee concerns about members of the popular subscription program being enrolled without their consent, the amended complaint alleges. Subscription services revenue, which includes Prime memberships, totaled $9.8 billion in Amazon's most recent quarterly earnings report. Amazon executives and employees met in 2018 about "Project Lucent," where the primary objective was to discuss "how many Prime signups [is] Amazon .

Persons: Russell Grandinetti, Jamil Ghani, Neil Lindsay, Grandinetti, Lindsay, Andy Jassy's, Ghani, Tim Doyle, Doyle, Mark Zuckerberg, Meta, Zuckerberg Organizations: Amazon, Federal Trade Commission, Top Amazon, Lucent, FTC Locations: East, New York City, Amazon's, Arlington , Virginia

☆ Amazon gives Alexa an AI facelift as it launches new smart speakers
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-20 | by ( Annie Palmer | In Annierpalmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Amazon introduced a "smarter and more conversational" version of its Alexa voice assistant that the company hopes will bolster its position in the tech industry's artificial intelligence race. In his final keynote address at the event on Wednesday, Amazon's devices chief Dave Limp showed off a demo of an updated Alexa that's freshly equipped with features powered by generative AI. From an event space at its new second headquarters in northern Virginia, Amazon showed a montage in which Alexa users were seen asking an Echo smart speaker for information such as the "best dates to travel to Puerto Rico." Similar to ChatGPT or other generative AI applications, Alexa will be able to compose messages for users and send them on their behalf. As an example, Amazon showed an invitation that Alexa wrote to a friend, asking the person to come over for a football game.

Persons: Dave Limp, Limp, Alexa Organizations: Amazon.com Inc, Amazon Devices, Amazon, Alexa, Echo Locations: Arlington , Virginia, Virginia, Puerto Rico

☆ Klaviyo rises 9% in muted NYSE debut after software vendor priced IPO at $30 a share
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-20 | by ( Ari Levy | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Klaviyo priced 19.2 million shares late Tuesday at $30 a piece, valuing the company at just over $9 billion on a fully diluted basis. Of those shares, 11.5 million were sold by the company, resulting in $345 million in cash added to the balance sheet. Instacart and Klaviyo are trying to crack open a tech IPO market that's been virtually shuttered for 21 months. The e-commerce software vendor owns roughly 11% of Klaviyo's shares, and invested $100 million in the company last year. — CNBC's Annie Palmer contributed to this reportWATCH: Klaviyo follows Instacart in tech IPO down rounds

Persons: Andrew Bialecki, Ed Hallen, Instacart, Arm, Japan's SoftBank, Klaviyo, Shopify, Bialecki, —, Annie Palmer Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, Inc, Nasdaq, Klaviyo's, CNBC Locations: Weds, U.S

☆ Amazon will now allow cashierless checkout for clothing
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-19 | by ( Annie Palmer | In Annierpalmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Customers carry their purchases as they leave the U.K.'s first branch of Amazon Fresh in the Ealing area of London, England, March 4, 2021. Amazon on Tuesday announced a new version of its cashierless checkout system, allowing customers to buy clothing without having to wait in line. The updated version of the company's Just Walk Out system incorporates radio-frequency identification, or RFID, technology, and each item in a store will feature an RFID tag. Avery Dennison, a materials science and digital identification company, built the RFID technology, according to Amazon. If retailers adopt the technology, it could mark a significant expansion for Amazon's Just Walk Out system.

Persons: Avery Dennison, Lumen Organizations: Amazon, National Football League's Seattle Seahawks Locations: Ealing, London, England, Seattle

☆ Amazon adding 250,000 workers for the holidays and bumping average pay
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-19 | by ( Annie Palmer | In Annierpalmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

It's also bumping the average hourly pay for warehouse and delivery workers. The hires will include full-time, part-time and seasonal warehouse and delivery employees, Amazon said. The company said warehouse and delivery employees will now make $20.50 an hour on average, up from $19 an hour. Amazon has gradually raised the average starting pay for its frontline workforce in recent years amid growing labor tensions. With the latest pay hike, some locations will offer employees up to $28 an hour, Amazon said.

Persons: It's Organizations: Amazon, Walmart Locations: Eastvale , California, U.S

☆ Tim Cook says Apple is 'constantly' evaluating its decision to advertise on Elon Musk's X
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-18 | by ( Annie Palmer | In Annierpalmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Apple CEO Tim Cook listens as President Joe Biden speaks during a roundtable with American and Indian business leaders in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., June 23, 2023. Apple CEO Tim Cook said the company continues to weigh whether it should keep advertising on the platform X, after its owner Elon Musk has been accused of antisemitism. "It's something we constantly ask ourselves," Cook said in an interview with CBS' "Sunday Morning" that aired on Sunday. Cook's comments come as Musk is slated to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday amid escalating concerns of antisemitism on X. Musk said in a post that the talks will focus on artificial intelligence. Musk and X have disputed the allegations.

Persons: Tim Cook, Joe Biden, Elon Musk, Cook, X, Benjamin Netanyahu, Musk, —, Jonathan Vanian Organizations: Apple, White, Washington , D.C, CBS, Israeli, Nonprofit, Defamation League, ADL, Center, Twitter Locations: Washington ,

☆ Klaviyo raises IPO price range, aiming for $9 billion valuation
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-18 | by ( Lauren Feiner | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Klaviyo is targeting a fully diluted valuation of up to $9 billion in its initial public offering after it raised the proposed price range of its shares in a filing on Monday. The marketing automation company estimated in the filing that its IPO price will fall between $27 and $29, up from the $25 to $27 range it previously estimated. Klaviyo's IPO comes after a yearslong stretch of very few significant venture-backed tech offerings. It follows Instacart's IPO announcement and Arm's debut, showing an early sign that tech offerings could be making a comeback. WATCH: Tech firm Klaviyo files for IPO

Persons: Klaviyo, —, Annie Palmer Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, Shopify

☆ Amazon rolls out generative AI tool to help sellers write product listings
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-13 | by ( Annie Palmer | In Annierpalmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Amazon on Wednesday debuted an artificial intelligence tool for sellers that helps them generate copy for their product pages. The tool prompts sellers to enter a few keywords or sentences describing their product. It then spits out a range of content a seller can use to build their listing, such as product titles, bullet points and descriptions. The feature was announced this week at Amazon Accelerate, a conference held annually in Seattle for the company's third-party sellers. Amazon also recently started using AI to summarize reviews left by customers on some products.

Persons: Sellers, Mary Beth Westmoreland, chatbot Bard, Andy Jassy Organizations: Amazon, Wednesday, Google, Amazon Web Services Locations: Melville , New York, Seattle

☆ Amazon says it's boosting pay for contract delivery drivers
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( Annie Palmer | In Annierpalmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Amazon said it plans to boost wages for contracted drivers as part of a $440 million investment this year into its third-party delivery program but declined to say by how much. The DSP program, launched in 2018, comprises about 279,000 drivers, often distinguishable by blue Amazon-branded vans, who are responsible for delivering packages the last few miles to shoppers' doorsteps. The DSPs regularly pay above the minimum set by Amazon, and it audits DSP wages "on a regular basis," Tomay said. The DSP program is a key weapon for Amazon's logistics arsenal that has allowed it to reduce its reliance on carriers such as the U.S. Critics have argued Amazon relies on subcontracted delivery drivers to dodge liability and avoid unionization.

Persons: Beryl Tomay, Tomay Organizations: Amazon, U.S . Postal Service, FedEx, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Teamsters, Critics Locations: U.S, California

Ryan Petersen, chief executive officer of Flexport, participates in a panel discussion during the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., on Wednesday, May 4, 2022. In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Petersen wrote that the company "can't just give out cash." In reclaiming the top position at Flexport, Petersen is displacing his handpicked successor, former Amazon executive Dave Clark, a little more than a year into his tenure. It's messed up," Petersen wrote. "We were on it," Petersen wrote in response to a post.

Persons: Ryan Petersen, Petersen, Dave Clark, It's, that's, Andreessen Horowitz, Peter Thiel's, Clark, Teresa Carlson, Clark's, Carlson, Flexport didn't Organizations: Milken Institute Global Conference, Twitter, Amazon, Fund, Microsoft, Flexport Locations: Beverly Hills , California, U.S, Flexport, Bay, CNBC's, Seattle, Dallas, San Francisco , Los Angeles, New York

Flexport CEO Dave Clark is resigning from the supply chain software startup and handing the reins over to founder and executive chair Ryan Petersen after one year in the role — and after just six months of helming the company solo. As such, I will be resigning from my position at Flexport." Clark and Petersen had been co-CEOs of Flexport beginning last September, and Clark took over as the company's sole CEO in March. Flexport announced last June that Petersen would step down in March 2023 as CEO and turn the position over to Clark, while transitioning into the role of executive chair. In July, Flexport said Petersen would join Founders Fund, the venture capital fund founded by billionaire Peter Thiel.

Persons: Dave Clark, Ryan Petersen, Ryan, Clark, Petersen, Flexport, Peter Thiel ., — CNBC's Riley de León Organizations: CNBC, Wall Street, Amazon, Founders Fund, Peter Thiel . Representatives, Fund Locations: Flexport, Texas, Clark

☆ Amazon loses One Medical CEO a year after acquiring primary care provider
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-01 | by ( Annie Palmer | In Annierpalmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Amir Dan Rubin, CEO of primary care provider One Medical, which Amazon acquired about a year ago, is leaving the company later this year. Twitch CEO Emmett Shear resigned from Amazon in March, and Whole Foods CEO John Mackey retired last year. Amazon has looked to shore up its presence in health care through the One Medical and PillPack deals, as well as by developing services in-house. Last August, the company shuttered its Amazon Care telehealth service amid broader cost-cutting efforts. Haven, a joint venture intended to disrupt health care, disbanded in 202.

Persons: Amir Dan Rubin, Neil Lindsay, Rubin, Trent Green, Trent, PillPack, TJ Parker, Elliot Cohen, Twitch, Emmett Shear, John Mackey, It's Organizations: Amazon, Amazon Health Services, CNBC, Washington Post, Federal Trade Commission, Whole Foods Locations: Haven

☆ Shopify stock pops after company strikes 'Buy with Prime' deal with Amazon
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( Annie Palmer | In Annierpalmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Shares of Shopify jumped as much as 9% in early trading Thursday after the Canadian e-commerce company said it struck a deal with Amazon to offer its "Buy with Prime" program to merchants. The companies announced late Wednesday that U.S.-based Shopify merchants will soon be able to access Amazon's Buy with Prime service, which allows them to add the Prime logo and offer Amazon's quick-turnaround delivery options on their storefronts. Members of Amazon's Prime loyalty club can check out using their Amazon accounts. Shopify President Harley Finkelstein later suggested the company was "in talks" with Amazon about integrating Buy with Prime on its platform. As part of the deal, Buy with Prime will be accessible via Shopify's checkout service, and transactions will be processed by Shopify Payments.

Persons: Shopify, Amazon, Harley Finkelstein Organizations: Amazon, Shopify Payments Locations: Ottawa , Ontario, Canada

☆ Amazon raises free shipping minimum to $35 for some customers who don't have Prime
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-28 | by ( Annie Palmer | In Annierpalmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The Amazon Prime logo is displayed on the side of an Amazon delivery truck in Richmond, California, June 21, 2023. Prime subscribers, who pay $139 a year for free shipping and other services, will see no change. Shoppers who don't subscribe to Prime will have to spend at least $35 to qualify for free shipping, up from a previous minimum of $25. Amazon has tweaked the free shipping threshold for non-Prime members in the past. Walmart also has a $35 free shipping minimum for shoppers who aren't part of its loyalty program, Walmart+.

Persons: Kristina Pressentin, Pressentin, Andy Jassy Organizations: Amazon, UPS, Walmart Locations: Richmond , California

☆ Klaviyo files to go public in latest sign of life for IPO market
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( Annie Palmer | In Annierpalmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Data and marketing automation company Klaviyo on Friday became the latest tech company to try to join the public markets. Klaviyo follows grocery-delivery service Instacart's long-awaited IPO filing, also submitted on Friday. Founded in 2012, Klaviyo helps companies store user data and build profiles on them to send targeted marketing via email, text messages and other channels. Klaviyo also has a partnership with Shopify where it is the "recommended email solution" for members of its Shopify Plus program. Klaviyo said it had more than 130,000 customers as of June 30, compared to 105,000 customers a year ago.

Persons: Klaviyo, Japan's SoftBank, Adobe's Magento Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, Securities and Exchange Commission, Klaviyo's, Shopify

☆ Affirm shares rocket 29% after better-than-expected results and strong guidance
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( Annie Palmer | In Annierpalmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Affirm Holdings Inc. website home screen on a laptop computer in an arranged photograph taken in Little Falls, New Jersey. Here's how the company did:Loss per share: 69 cents vs. 85 cents as expected by analysts, according to Refinitiv. 69 cents vs. 85 cents as expected by analysts, according to Refinitiv. Revenue: $446 million vs. $406 million as expected by analysts, according to Refinitiv. Affirm also gave strong guidance for the fiscal first quarter, projecting $430 million to $455 million in revenue, versus analyst expectations of $430 million.

Persons: Michael Linford, LendingTree's Matt Schulz Organizations: Deutsche Bank Locations: Little Falls , New Jersey, Refinitiv

The case is the latest example of the Federal Trade Commission cracking down on deceptive e-commerce consultancies that target consumers and fledgling online businesses. The Cresto brothers also took 35% of any profits from their "partners'" e-commerce stores, the complaint says. The suspensions left Empire's clients deeply in debt, the FTC alleged, "because Empire typically had its clients pay for inventory on credit cards." The scheme is ongoing and defrauding consumers of tens of thousands of dollars, according to the FTC. Amazon and Walmart did not immediately respond to CNBC's requests for comment.

Persons: John, Roman Cresto, Ecommerce Organizations: Amazon, Walmart, Federal Trade Commission, FTC, Southern, Southern District of Locations: U.S, Southern District, Southern District of California, Italy

☆ Amazon is seeing some employees quit instead of moving to a new state as part of relocation mandate
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-22 | by ( Annie Palmer | In Annierpalmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Amazon spokesperson Rob Munoz confirmed the relocation policy, and said it affects a small percentage of the company's workforce. The e-commerce giant said hub locations vary by team, and each team determines which locations are their hub. Amazon said it will end a perk next year that allows staffers to get one free drink at in-office coffee shops. The company also reduced the amount it reimburses for parking, and stopped providing free Uber rides to and from work, employees said. Amazon said it still reimburses employees' public transportation costs in all major metro areas, and provides free commuter shuttles and campus shuttles.

Persons: Rob Munoz, Munoz, Andy Jassy Organizations: CNBC, Amazon Locations: Texas, Seattle , New York, Austin , Texas, Arlington , Virginia, Seattle

☆ Amazon adds a new fee for sellers who ship their own packages
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( Annie Palmer | In Annierpalmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Amazon is adding a new charge for third-party sellers who ship their own products instead of paying for the company's fulfillment services. Previously, there was no such fee for sellers. The e-commerce giant also charges sellers a referral fee between 8% and 15% on each sale. Regulators have examined whether Amazon pressures sellers into using its services in exchange for preferential treatment on the marketplace. In a blog post on Monday, the company argued sellers continue to flock to its sprawling marketplace "because it's a great value."

Persons: Amazon's, hasn't, Sellers, Dharmesh Mehta Organizations: CNBC, Amazon, Bloomberg, Regulators, Federal Trade Commission Locations: SFP, U.S

☆ Amazon hardware chief Dave Limp is stepping down this year
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-14 | by ( Ashley Capoot | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Limp regularly appeared at Amazon hardware events, which are typically held each fall but sometimes occur more than once a year, to announce new products. Amazon said Limp would remain in his role for the next few months and the company will announce his successor in the coming weeks. Amazon is set to unveil new products at its annual event Sept. 20, hosted at the company's Northern Virginia headquarters, known as HQ2. "It pains me to have to deliver this news as we know we will lose talented Amazonians from the Devices & Services org as a result." In January, Limp said Amazon remains "fully committed" to the Alexa unit despite the job cuts in the division.

Persons: David Limp, Amazon's, Limp, Andy Jassy, Jassy, —, Annie Palmer Organizations: Amazon.com Inc, Amazon, CNBC, Wall Street, Devices, Services Locations: Seattle, Virginia

☆ Amazon axes some private label brands as part of wider cost cuts
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-10 | by ( Annie Palmer | In Annierpalmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Amazon is cutting some of its private label brands as part of a broader effort to rein in costs, the company confirmed to CNBC. The number of Amazon's private label brands has expanded rapidly over the years to include things like Goodthreads apparel, Rivet furniture and Presto! Matt Taddy, Vice President of Amazon Private Brands, said in a statement that the company has looked to eliminate some in-house products after determining they didn't resonate with customers. Amazon has said sales from private label brands represent only 1% of its total retail sales. As of 2019, the company said it had 158,000 private brand products across 45 brands, along with other brands sold by its online grocery service Amazon Fresh.

Persons: Matt Taddy, we've, Taddy, Andy Jassy, Jeff Bezos Organizations: CNBC, Amazon Private Brands, Wall Street, Federal Trade Commission, Amazon, Brands, House, Big Tech, FTC

☆ Amazon Prime Air loses two key operations leaders, as drone delivery struggles continue
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( Annie Palmer | In Annierpalmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

An Amazon delivery drone is on display at Amazon's BOS27 Robotics Innovation Hub in Westborough, Massachusetts on November 10, 2022. Jim Mullin, Prime Air's chief pilot, left Amazon last month, according to his LinkedIn profile. Just as Prime Air was set to launch early this year and start delivering packages sent to consumers, CEO Andy Jassy, who succeeded Bezos in 2021, embarked on the largest round of layoffs in company history, which included significant job cuts at Prime Air. But problems for Prime Air predated the economic downturn. At the beginning of the year, the company began durability and reliability (D&R) testing, which requires that Prime Air complete several hundred hours of flying without any incidents.

Persons: Jim Mullin, Robert Dreer, Mullin, Jeff Bezos, Obama, Andy Jassy, Bezos, David Carbon's, There's, Nobody, Simone Griffin, Griffin, Zipline Organizations: Amazon, Prime Air, Marine, College Station, CNBC, Federal Aviation Administration, Air, Walmart Locations: Westborough , Massachusetts, Pendleton , Oregon, Oregon , California, Texas, , California, Pendleton

☆ Amazon is running a second Prime Day sale in October
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-08 | by ( Annie Palmer | In Annierpalmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Amazon is hosting a second Prime Day-like sales bonanza in October, the company announced Tuesday, seeking to hook consumers planning to start their holiday shopping early. Amazon first created Prime Day in 2015. The company held a 48-hour Prime Day event in July that boosted U.S. online sales 6.1%, resulting in $12.7 billion, according Adobe Analytics. The Prime Day sequel comes as retailers are bracing for a downbeat holiday spending season this year, according to the latest CNBC Supply Chain Survey. WATCH: At the end of the day Amazon has 'more levers to pull' than Apple

Organizations: Amazon, Deal, Adobe Analytics, CNBC Supply Chain Survey, Apple Locations: Robbinsville , New Jersey

A blue and white Shark Vacuum on a store display. After its listing at just over $30 a share, the stock — trading under ticker symbol SN — rocketed 40% in its first day. Shark's upright vacuums and Ninja's electric grills each account for 43% of their respective markets in the U.S., the filing showed. From 2019 to 2022, Shark's robot vacuum market share grew from 15% to 25%. JS Global separated the U.S. and China businesses, citing "geographic-specific considerations."

Persons: Mark Barrocas, SharkNinja, greenlit Amazon's, Xuning Wang Organizations: SharkNinja, New York Stock Exchange, Kong's, CNBC, U.S, Amazon, JS Global Locations: Friday's, China, North America, U.S, Boston, Needham , Massachusetts, Hong Kong

☆ Amazon stock rallies after blowout quarter
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-04 | by ( Annie Palmer | In Annierpalmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Amazon shares rallied 8% on Friday, a day after the company reported blowout second-quarter earnings and issued upbeat guidance. Amazon notched its biggest profit beat since 2020, boosted by CEO Andy Jassy's aggressive cost-cutting efforts. For the third quarter, Amazon said it expects sales of between $138 billion and $143 billion, topping consensus estimates of $138.25 billion, according to Refinitiv. Wall Street cheered the results, lauding the strong results for Amazon Web Services and improving retail margins. Morgan Stanley analysts characterized the shift as the "next retail flywheel" for Amazon.

Persons: Andy Jassy, Andy, Bernstein, Morgan Stanley, — CNBC's Michael Bloom, CFRA Organizations: Amazon.Com Inc, Amazon, Revenue, Analysts, Amazon Web Services, Amazon executives Locations: Seattle , Washington , U.S, Refinitiv, America

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