At the beginning of the year I noted that media (i.e. content) would play a role in 2007 e-commerce growth. Here was prediction #2 in my e-commerce prognostications:
Content shifts traffic patterns. Especially within niches, the more sophisticated e-tailers will look to media to drive visit frequency. Just as groceries changed Wal-Mart’s customer base from one that visited on average once a month to one that visited on average once a week, e-tailers will use topical media to bring customers back (see Bluefly’s “flypaper“).
I should have also touched on content as differentiator in crowded, commodity retail markets. Today, Amazon announced its purchase of Dpreview.com (Digital Photography Review), a digital camera-focused news and review site that garners more than 7 million unique visitors monthly according to Techcrunch’s coverage. Historically, Dpreview has made money generating business for retailers that carry the cameras it reviews (see screenshot).
On a go-forward basis, I’d imagine Amazon’s top line will be the primary beneficiary of the site’s traffic. Of course, take the following from Amazon’s press release for what you will: ”Dpreview.com will continue to function as a stand-alone operation…”
The Dpreview acquisition represents an interesting psychological puzzle. Assuming the site becomes woven somehow into Amazon’s retail blanket, one might imagine its discerning visitors would lose faith in the objectivity of its fabled camera reviews. Surely, the site might be encouraged to write positively regarding a product that “central” over-bought and needed to clear out. On the other hand, I like the idea of “expert” reviews becoming more integrated into the e-commerce fold (I’d like to see a “veteran voice” version of BazaarVoice’s review enablement solution, for instance) and I believe the Internet is a ruthless arbiter of truth, a fantastic incentive for content objectivity even within the walls of retail.
Incidentally, kudos to Phil Askey, who founded Dpreview in ’98, for building a top-notch service that I’ve utilized on a number of occasions.
Wow. That was interesting news this morning about Dpreview (which I learned from your Punctuative! piece). I would never have thought about their being “acquired.†This is fascinating, and makes a lot of sense. Dpreview does the best job I know of, of listing and making possible easy comparisons of, camera specs. What a perfect adjunct to Amazon’s camera-selling. Perhaps Amazon will become the only (at least American) vendor listed on the site, or make its ads more prominent than others. And the forums provide a wealth of information about products and usage, and the posters hold Phil Askey’s feet to the fire if they think he’s wrong on something. I’m definitely one of their regular unique visitors, as I go to it at least every few days. The site I’ve lately taken a greater shine to is Luminous-Landscape. The forums there are frequented by more serious and experienced photographers and printers whose questions and comments and equipment and software interests I find very relevant to the work I’m interested in doing. After the wedding, MORE PHOTOGRAPHY!!
Thanks, Mom
Next steps involve eliciting a web presence out of you so that I can point my readers to your works of art!
Best,
Matt