Amazon reported an operating margin of 1.5% for the six month period ending June 2015, slightly up from 0.34% during the same period last year. Walmart, which can be termed as the “offline” version of Amazon, generates an operating margin of 6%. Alibaba, the Chinese e-commerce operator, is much ahead in profitability with an operating margin of 30%. Although Amazon and Alibaba have different operating models and profitability numbers cannot be directly compared, Alibaba’s margins are an indicator of where Amazon can reach when it starts expanding in the third party platform business model. The current cost figures clearly shows that the retailer does not seem to be focused on improving margins.

from Forbes – Tech http://ift.tt/1jCCAif
via IFTTT