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Alexa is in millions of households and Amazon is losing billions

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Re: Alexa is in millions of households and Amazon is losing billions

#311

Post by nemo44x »

swatcoder wrote: post #100
paxys wrote: post #86

The core issue is that Amazon envisioned Alexa as a product that would help it increase sales. Smart home features were always an afterthought. How convenient would it be if people could shout "Alexa order me Tide Pods" from wherever they were in their home and the order got magically processed? That demo definitely got applause from a boardroom full of execs. The problem is that consumers don't behave like that. Thi…

> I always want to see a page with the product details and price before I click "buy". Reducing the number of clicks is not going to make me change my decision. This is compounded by the multi-headed monster that large orgs like theirs have no choice but to become. If customers could trust that every day essentials had a relatively stable price and availability pattern like they trust from their local grocery store (…

I’d argue their app is so good and reliable that these other things don’t add enough to make them worth it. If I see something is out or I need something it only takes a second to buy it on my phone.

Re: Alexa is in millions of households and Amazon is losing billions

#312

Post by gen220 »

onion2k wrote: post #237
StressedDev wrote: post #204

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Retail is extremely competitive. Amazon does not have the best prices, and has a horrible experience for shopping. It's basically a specialized search engine with lots of ads at this point. Also, the things which made Amazon shopping a no-brainer are gone. Items no longer always arrive within two days if you have Prime, there are lots of poor-quality items, and it's hard to find what you really want. Finally, it's ob…

Prime is Amazon's moat though. More than 100 million people subscribe to a service that locks them into choosing Amazon first. People with Prime choose Amazon over going to a physical store. It's what took Amazon out of being an e-commerce business and into being a retail business. Don't underestimate how important Prime is to Amazon - it's literally a vendor lock-in that generates billions directly through fees and…

It is until it isn’t. The value of prime has largely being hollowed out and competed away in the last five years, from my perspective as a recently-cancelled Prime member.

When the next recession comes, look for the diff in churn rate between Prime and Costco memberships.

Re: Alexa is in millions of households and Amazon is losing billions

#313

Post by anthomtb »

paxys wrote: post #86

The core issue is that Amazon envisioned Alexa as a product that would help it increase sales. Smart home features were always an afterthought. How convenient would it be if people could shout "Alexa order me Tide Pods" from wherever they were in their home and the order got magically processed? That demo definitely got applause from a boardroom full of execs. The problem is that consumers don't behave like that. Thi…

> people could shout "Alexa order me Tide Pods" from wherever they were in their home and the order got magically processed...

> consumers don't behave like that

Computer savvy HN readers don't behave like that. My computer illiterate mother-in-law, on the other hand, kind of does. My brother-in-law got her one of those Google smart speakers years ago and she loved the thing. Finally, a computer to which she could bark orders and have them fulfilled, much like she does to any human within earshot.

Re: Alexa is in millions of households and Amazon is losing billions

#315

Post by ryukoposting »

paxys wrote: post #86

The core issue is that Amazon envisioned Alexa as a product that would help it increase sales. Smart home features were always an afterthought. How convenient would it be if people could shout "Alexa order me Tide Pods" from wherever they were in their home and the order got magically processed? That demo definitely got applause from a boardroom full of execs. The problem is that consumers don't behave like that. Thi…

> If they want to salvage Alexa, they need to forget shopping and start doubling down on the smart home and assistant experience.

The problem with this approach is that the vast majority of their installed base don't care about the smart home features.

The highest margins in smart home equipment are in the high end, as usual. However, Alexa explicitly targeted the mass consumer market. Many of those folks are completely satisfied with a couple of those "smart" switching plug things, which are dirt cheap and totally commoditized.

Many others live in apartments, and thus their options for home en-smarttening are very limited. Even if they wanted to go for a costly, sophisticated smart home setup, they can't.

Other folks just don't give a damn about smart home tech and are totally satisfied with a thermostat that they must use by walking over to it.

Maybe I'm wrong, but my instinct is that Alexa's reach is incompatible with a business model of selling smart home products for profit.

Re: Alexa is in millions of households and Amazon is losing billions

#316

Post by julianeon »

paxys wrote: post #86

The core issue is that Amazon envisioned Alexa as a product that would help it increase sales. Smart home features were always an afterthought. How convenient would it be if people could shout "Alexa order me Tide Pods" from wherever they were in their home and the order got magically processed? That demo definitely got applause from a boardroom full of execs. The problem is that consumers don't behave like that. Thi…

> Alexa can set timers and tell me the weather, and...that's basically it.

My usage is:

~30%: timers

~10%: weather

~60%: tell Alexa to add things to a shopping list, which I use when I'm at a physical store or ready to do a curbside shopping order

Re: Alexa is in millions of households and Amazon is losing billions

#317

Post by markbnj »

paxys wrote: post #86

The core issue is that Amazon envisioned Alexa as a product that would help it increase sales. Smart home features were always an afterthought. How convenient would it be if people could shout "Alexa order me Tide Pods" from wherever they were in their home and the order got magically processed? That demo definitely got applause from a boardroom full of execs. The problem is that consumers don't behave like that. Thi…

>> Alexa can set timers and tell me the weather, and...that's basically it.

I'm not sure if you're intending to be literal or engaging in hyperbole to make a point, but either way it doesn't gel with our experience. Yes, we definitely set timers and ask about the weather... near us, at places we're going to, in the near future, etc. We also ask for a lot of conversions, or adjustments to measurements. My partner is a great cook and she is constantly shouting out to Alexa to convert an amount, find a substitute, confirm a cooking temp and time and things like that. I ask it factual questions all the time and usually it has an answer: these might be history, technology, medicine, whatever. Given the device's low price point and lack of any ongoing subscription it seems like a pretty good value to us, and it will even play some mood music for us while we eat and tell us where our shipment of coffee filters is.

Re: Alexa is in millions of households and Amazon is losing billions

#318

Post by julianeon »

Rapzid wrote: post #305
paxys wrote: post #86

The core issue is that Amazon envisioned Alexa as a product that would help it increase sales. Smart home features were always an afterthought. How convenient would it be if people could shout "Alexa order me Tide Pods" from wherever they were in their home and the order got magically processed? That demo definitely got applause from a boardroom full of execs. The problem is that consumers don't behave like that. Thi…

99% of my Alexa usage is: Kitchen timer What's the weather Shipping and weather alerts So yeah, not sure where the money will come from. I get angry any time Alexa recommends anything.

The other really big use case - actually the majority for me! - is telling Alexa to add things to shopping lists. I have one list I always check when I'm at a physical store or preparing for curbside shopping.

Re: Alexa is in millions of households and Amazon is losing billions

#319

Post by crazygringo »

nox101 wrote: post #254
S0y wrote: post #113

>Customers actually used Echo mostly for free apps such as setting alarms and checking the weather. “We worried we’ve hired 10,000 people and we’ve built a smart timer,” said a former senior employee. That's actually really funny to read. Just last night I was watching my brother cook and he asked Alexa to set a timer (It's pretty much the only thing he uses it for...) I jokingly said "You know, that's a really expen…

I already have that, it's my phone. I don't need a second device to respond to "Set a timer"

I do.

If my phone's in my pocket, it won't hear. If it's in my bag, it won't hear.

Or it sets the timer, but then a kid grabs my phone for something and leaves it upstairs were I won't hear it.

There's something to be said for a voice-activated timer in your kitchen that is always in your kitchen and never leaves your kitchen.

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