Friday, Nov. 23, 2018
Amazon has been filling its cart with all kinds of businesses, from a grocery store to a pharmacy. What used to be a book seller is now a seller of everything. What's behind this?
This program originally aired Aug. 14, 2018
Now that the Thanksgiving leftovers are wrapped up, it’s time to get started on the holiday shopping. For many, that will mean browsing Amazon.
There was a time when Amazon was a bookstore. Now, it’s a media company, grocery store owner, cloud computing service, apparel maker and, with its latest purchase, a pharmacy. There’s also talk of Amazon’s own shipping service to rival the US Postal Service and UPS.
The company’s acquisition spree has been described as “unprecedented,” but it's also raised questions about whether Amazon is approaching monopoly status.
What’s driving the company’s expansion? Is there anything Amazon ISN’T interested in buying?
GUESTS
Carolyn Adolph, reporter, KUOW, Seattle; co-host of KUOW's "Prime(d)" podcast (@carolynadolph)
Priya Anand, reporter covering Amazon and e-commerce, The Information (@Priyasideas)
Steven Cox, professor, Queens University of Charlotte's McColl School of Business