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The Everything Store

Amazon’s grip on America
by
January–February 2022, no. 439

Fulfillment: Winning and losing in one-click America by Alec MacGillis

Scribe, $35 pb, 400 pp

The Everything Store

Amazon’s grip on America
by
January–February 2022, no. 439

In 1995, a new online marketplace called Amazon sent out its first press release, with its thirty-one-year-old founder, Jeff Bezos, proclaiming: ‘We are able to offer more items for sale than any retailer in history, thanks entirely to the Internet.’ Nearly three decades later – Amazon having steroidally expanded from a book retailer to a multinational hydra of e-commerce, cloud storage, and digital streaming – this is no longer hyperbole. The company absorbs at least half of America’s online spending, and nearly 150 million US citizens subscribe to Amazon Prime, roughly the same number that voted in the recent presidential election. In 2020, while the pandemic crippled most industries, Amazon’s net profit swelled by eighty-four per cent. Today, Jeff Bezos is valued at US$200 billion – approximately the value of New Zealand’s GDP.

Jack Callil reviews 'Fulfillment: Winning and losing in one-click America' by Alec MacGillis

Fulfillment: Winning and losing in one-click America

by Alec MacGillis

Scribe, $35 pb, 400 pp

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