In Response to Tyler...

Are we ready to fully rely on technology? or should we at some point say maybe things are not to difficult and we do not need so much extra in life? 

I personally am NOT ready to fully rely on technology, while it is yes growing at a rapid rate of innovation, it still has its flaws. I do use technology daily (as do most today) and with most of it, I feel it is making some aspects of business and personal use easier and better, but disengaging in personal interaction is not going to make the world better. 

Apps can be helpful for convenience and when getting a coffee there is nothing better than speed and efficiency for most but completely taking out the face to face interaction is astonishing to me. I feel that Starbucks should pride themselves on customer service and satisfaction but instead to fall to a scheme like this, I find uninviting.

Is this the way our children are going to have to adapt with society? Is this healthy? 

Amazon challenges Wal-Mart, one click at a time

 Amazon.com, the world's biggest web store, has taken on some touch challenges in the retail world and is now taking on its biggest challenge yet: Wal-Mart. Five years ago, only about one quarter of Wal-Mart's customers also shopped online at Amazon where as now half of Wal-Mart's shoppers say they also shop online at Amazon - this could become a potential problem for Wal-Mart.


"If the trend continues, with Amazon up and Wal-Mart down, by the 2012 holiday season Amazon could be the most shopped retailer," said an analyst.  As Wal-Mart has pioneered over the past 50 years, Amazon is pulling off a similar revolution within online commerce, in order for Wal-Mart to keep up, they need to become an urban pioneer and e-commerce leader as well. 

When it comes to size there is no question that Wal-Mart still towers over Amazon with a $419 billion in revenue in its most recent fiscal year, compared with $48 billion for Amazon. But Amazon is growing rapidly while Wal-Mart is showing all the signs of maturity.  


As we talked about in class, the maturity stage of a "products" lifetime is it's money making stage, but right after this stage comes the decline.  Retail is changing rapidly and online shopping is becoming more and more popular and making companies like Amazon thriving at the moment.


Do you see Wal-Mart approaching a declining stage? Is it fair to say that Amazon is a direct competitor of Wal-Mart?