Amazon is expanding its Handmade marketplace to Europe and launched a new service last week that became public on Wednesday: photo printing. Shoppers can now turn to Amazon not only for books, electronics, toys, clothes, wine, art, and even some collectibles and handmade goods – but prints of their photos as well.
Amazon customers in Europe can now shop for over 30,000 handcrafted items as Handmade at Amazon goes global. The category launched in the US last year and now has over 500,000 items from all 50 states and over 80 countries around the world. Artisan crafted products are available in ten categories, and over 50% of items include options for customer personalization.
Amazon Director Steve Johnson said Amazon has become a one-stop shop for holiday gifting – “this year customers will see hundreds of thousands more handmade items, with thousands eligible for Prime two-day shipping.”
As for Amazon’s brand new photo printing service, investors in Shutterfly were initially shaken to the core when news about Amazon’s latest category surfaced this week.
Bloomberg, which broke the story, said the printing service provides Amazon a way to generate revenue from storing customer’s digital pictures.
Amazon states that “Amazon Prints and S&D Print work together to bring you professional quality photo printing,” but it doesn’t explain who’s behind S&D Print.
Noting that Amazon Prints requires the use of the Amazon Drive storage service, TechCrunch said, “That makes Prints more of an advantage for Amazon Prime subscribers, as one of the benefits of Prime membership is unlimited, free photo storage.”
