The Knowledge to Decide

Amazon is eyeing the healthcare sector. It has rolled out a line of private label, over-the-counter medicines along with medical supplies for hospitals, doctors and dentists. Whether it is selling prescription or generic drugs, Amazon seems poised to disrupt the healthcare industry. However, Amazon faces its own share of hurdles. It will need licenses from each state to be able to sell medical supplies.  Medical practitioners may prefer to stay loyal existing sales channels. Waiting 24 to 48 hours for a pain or cold medicine means that customers may still run to the nearest pharmacy. Will Amazon disrupt the healthcare industry? For more information, click here.

The future of retail seems to be here. E-commerce giant Amazon has launched Amazon Go – a new grocery store concept with no checkout process. The order is posted to the customer’s Amazon account address later via a mobile application. The store is spread across a 1,800 square foot area. It offers pre-made snacks, fresh meals as well as grocery goods like bread, cheese and milk. As you grab what you need, the Amazon Go app adds the items without the hassle of a check-in line. The detection technology of Amazon Go works on the basis of computer vision, sensor fusion and deep learning. The first store in Seattle is open to Amazon employees for further testing and would open to the public in early 2017. Is retail ready to become mobile app based? https://www.spireresearch.com/newsroom/spirethoughts/no-more-check-out-lines-at-stores/

Spire Research and Consulting was honored to participate at the GATES India ICT Reseller Summit 2016 as the content and research partner. The event was held in Pune from 16-18 February, 2016. The Summit is an initiative to provide a powerful business platform for consumer electronics and ICT brands to launch, develop and expand their network in the Indian sub-continent. Japnit Singh, Senior Director at Spire Research and Consulting, highlighted the perception of customers who purchase products through e-commerce websites as well as the experience of online retailers with online market place associations. Singh discussed research data and insights on customers’ with online purchases in the past six months and online retailers. The data was gleaned from telephonic surveys conducted (in December 2015) across six metropolitan cities, namely Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, Chandigarh and Jaipur. The survey focused on customers’ purchase habits, preferred price range and product