Amazon Turns Up the Heat in Mobile Commerce
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The fear of an escalation in Syria appears to be subsiding this morning, at least insofar as investors are concerned. Following the worst daily performance since June, U.S. stocks opened flat today: The S&P 500 and the narrower, price-weighted Dow Jones Industrial Average have moved less than 0.1%.
Apps are where it's at
The battle for mobile commerce is definitely on! Online commerce heavyweight Amazon announced a new program yesterday that will pay commissions of up to 6% to app developers for purchases of products that are highlighted within their applications. The program will target apps that run on Google's Android operating system.
Amazon naturally wants its share of the mobile-commerce pie, but given the size of its existing "Affiliates" program, whereby it pays a commission to website owners who feature Amazon ads on their site, it's a little surprising that the company hadn't thought to mimic this program with apps any sooner.
According to a recent report by Dekh, which operates a platform that enables online merchants to create affiliate programs, Amazon has more than 900,000 affiliates, which drive nearly 40% of its revenue. Commission rates range from 4% to 25%.
In a separate move that underscores the opportunity in e-commerce on mobile devices, Twitter has hired Ticketmaster's former CEO, Nathan Hubbard, to develop the capability for users to make online purchases directly via the microblogging platform.
A number of merchants, including Amazon, already offer deals on Twitter, but users must click away from the platform in order to complete the purchase. "The next evolution of [Twitter's existing loyalty] card product and the tools we give to brands is to eliminate the friction in buying and allow transactions within the platform," said Mr. Hubbard, who will report to Adam Bain, Twitter's head of revenue.
Following the November 2012 poaching of Mike Gupta from Zynga (he became Twitter's treasurer and then CFO), this latest hire is another indication that Twitter is ramping up for an initial public offering -- as one might expect for a company that has that much buzz.
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The article Amazon Turns Up the Heat in Mobile Commerce originally appeared on Fool.com.
Fool contributor Alex Dumortier, CFA has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Amazon.com. The Motley Fool owns shares of Amazon.com. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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