If you ever wondered why Amazon.com
All jokes aside, the Kindle has done an amazing job of preparing consumers for a full-fledged, Amazon-branded tablet computer. Take a look at Jeff Bezos standing Zen-like in front of the evidence:
Image borrowed from "Chart of the Day" by Business Insider's Jay Yarow, with permission.
The chart behind Bezos shows Amazon's physical book sales trend in yellow and Kindle-based e-books in orange. Keep in mind that the yellow line was steep enough to kill off Borders, reduce Books-a-Million to a pale shadow of its formerly robust self, and send Barnes & Noble
Speaking of Netflix, the video service is one of the four non-Amazon content pillars upon which the Fire's success will rest. The other three are Twitter, Facebook, and Pandora Media
While Amazon surely would love for all Kindle-based traffic to stay inside the Amazon ecosystem of sites and services, in the vein of Apple
In the meantime, Forrester Research shed light on a hidden way Amazon can further profit from a foray into tablets. The researcher reports that tablet users are about 50% more likely to buy stuff online than other Internet users, and also spend about 15% more when they make a purchase. Simply putting that tool into more hands, then, should juice Amazon's plain old e-tail sales -- especially when the Amazon experience is baked right into the tablet product.
Clever move, Bezos. That lack of unbending ego is one of the reasons why Amazon is changing the face of retail. Grab a totally free copy of this free report to read more about how this online cash king is killing Wal-Mart.