ASIAFORSALE has all the internet retailers worried;
Amazoncom Lets Other Merchants Sell on Its Web Site
New York, Sept. 29 (Bloomberg) -- Amazon.com Inc. said it will let any merchant make its goods available to the 12 million customers who shop on its Internet site, sending its shares up as much as 17 percent, the biggest one-day gain since January.
Shares of Seattle-based Amazon.com, the largest online retailer, rose 10 to 75 7/8 in midmorning trading of 23.2 million shares. Earlier the shares rose as much as 17 percent to 77. It was the most actively traded stock in U.S. markets.
The service is the latest by Amazon.com Chief Executive Jeffrey Bezos to bolster the online retailer's variety of products and services before the holiday shopping season. Internet retail sales are forecast to almost triple to about $10 billion in the fourth quarter, according to Forrester Research Inc.
''This is all about finding what you want and saving time and money,'' said founder and Chief Executive Jeff Bezos in a statement.
Amazon.com also said it can store credit information for customers and handle transactions for zShop merchants. However, sellers would not have access to the credit information if a customer so chooses, the company said.
For $9.99 a month, each merchant can list as many as 3,000 items on ''zShops,'' the area on Amazon.com's site devoted to the sellers. The announcement was made at a press conference in New York.
Sep/29/1999 10:35
For more stories from Bloomberg News, click here.
(C) Copyright 1999 Bloomberg L.P. |
