Neigh Sayers: “Amazon’s $130 million outlay for advertising last year, including TV and print, equaled 5% of sales; about average for brick-and-mortar retailers. Starbucks spent just $28 million–1.5% of $2 billion sales. Its one-to-one marketing is that everyone sees at least one Starbucks every day and the counter personnel interact with millions of customers one at a time. I want my $3 cup with service and ambiance, not e-mail ads. Most people perceive Amazon as a retailer of books and music because that’s what Amazon mainly sells. They’re right. Without physical stores, Amazon’s marketing has to rely on technology. That doesn’t mean Amazon’s business is technology any more than cash register company NCR is a retailer.”

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