Amazon wants to be everything for everyone

Amazon is bolstering its e-commerce empire as it continues its push into people's lives, from robots to healthcare and entertainment.

Innovations unveiled in recent days by the Seattle-based tech titan included a computer system for delivery vans to reduce delivery time for its speed-obsessed logistics network.

Amazon Stores boss Doug Herrington said the technology allows vans to recognize stops and flag which packages to drop off.

“When we speed up deliveries, customers buy more,” Herrington said.

“By 2024, we are going to have the fastest Prime delivery speeds in the world,” he added, referring to Amazon's subscription service.

On top of that, according to Herrington, last year Amazon managed to reduce the cost per unit shipped by 45 cents, a huge savings considering the huge sales volume.

Prime is the 'glue'

Last year, Amazon posted a profit of more than $30 billion on revenue of $575 billion, driven by its online retail operation and its AWS cloud computing division.

“They have this whole flywheel model with the Amazon Prime membership in the middle,” said eMarketer analyst Suzy Davidkhanian. “That's the glue that holds everything together.”

Businesses include retail, advertising, cloud computing, and streaming movies and music.

But that same model has the 30-year-old company facing a lawsuit from the U.S. government, accused of expanding an illegal monopoly and harming competition in other ways.

Amazon makes money from data collected about consumers, either by targeting ads or through information about what products they might like, Davidkhanian said.

That's why Amazon paid for expensive rights to stream NFL football games on Prime Video in a move that promises to help it target fans of the sport.

Amazon's digital assistant, Alexa, can order items on command and has even been integrated into appliances like washing machines to allow them to automatically purchase supplies like laundry soap as needed.

A 'pocket pharmacy'

Amazon showed improvements to its virtual healthcare service called One Medical.

For $9 a month, Prime members are promised anytime access to video consultations with health professionals, plus record-keeping and medication prescriptions.

An Amazon pharmacy is leveraging the company's delivery network to deliver prescriptions to patients quickly, striving to achieve speeds of less than 24 hours for 45 percent of customers by the end of next year.

“We're building a pharmacy in your pocket that offers fast delivery right to your door,” said Amazon Pharmacy head Hannah McClellan, referring to the option to use a smartphone app.

The healthcare market promises to be lucrative for Amazon, which is “trying to be the platform that has everything for everyone,” said analyst Davidkhanian.

Real world wrinkles

Amazon has suffered setbacks when it comes to brick-and-mortar stores, but continues to strive for a winning strategy.

The company will open its first “automated micro warehouse” in Pennsylvania next year, next to an organic grocery store from Whole Foods Market, the chain it bought in 2017.

People will be able to pick up select items online, with orders completed by robots, after shopping for fresh produce and groceries next door.

Meanwhile, Amazon is stepping up its use of artificial intelligence in its online store, with tools that help sellers describe and illustrate products.

Product labels will change depending on the user, displaying terms that may catch their attention, such as “strawberry flavor” for some and “gluten-free” for others.

“What Amazon is doing with AI is making sure you go from researching something to making a purchase as quickly as possible,” Davidkhanian said.

At the fulfillment center near Nashville, robotic arms deftly placed packages on carts that autonomously headed to trucks.

Automating fulfillment centers improves safety and frees up workers for more interesting tasks, according to Amazon robotics manager Julie Mitchell.

However, critics cite pressure on delivery speed and other factors that make Amazon warehouses more dangerous than the industry average.