We all knew that evicting Apple and Google from the Amazon marketplace set-top category was going to hurt the two Silicon Valley giants, the question was — how much? Well, the pain threshold could reach the 9-digit range. According to a report from 1010data’s eCom Insights Panel, the Amazon marketplace was a larger mover of AppleTV and Chromecast product than some of us may have realized. In the last 12 months, 60 percent of Apple TV’s online sales came from the Amazon storefront, and for Google the numbers were even higher, at 90 percent. For Apple, the Amazon sales channel was pulling in roughly $25 million out of Apple TV’s $42 million total online sales. And for Google, that number was in the range of $60 million out of the Chromecast line’s $67 million total online sales. The bad news from 1010data’s analysis doesn’t stop there. It predicts growth for online sales of set-top devices, with advertising revenue from these devices an important source of income for its hardware manufacturers. The report suggests that, taken together, these factors mean Apple and Google could collectively lose upwards of $100 million worth of revenue over this Amazon exclusion. This doesn’t mean that consumers can’t still purchase Apple TV and Chromecast devices through other means (nor does it spell the end of either device). There are other online retail services out there, after all, and it’s not as if brick and mortar stores have gone completely extinct. Still, given that Amazon is so prevalent in the online product sales arena, the eviction is hitting Google’s and Apple’s products hard. So how, exactly, did 1010data compile its information to come to these conclusions? Area vice president, Samir Bhavnani, explained, “The data for the study came from our analysts’ study of 1010data’s eCom Insights panel that consists of millions of online shoppers who allow 1010data to anonymously track their online behavior for market research. The research is focused on the top 100 online mass retailers in the US.” What’s his two cents on this situation? “The reality is that Amazon, Apple, and Google are frenemies.” Bhavnani explained, “Each relies on the other for customers and supports the others platforms to varying degrees. This move by Amazon helps its odds of winning the long-term benefit of access to customers televisions, while offering customers the best ‘Amazon Experience.'” Readers can check out the full details of the report, which will be published on 1010data’s blog section later this week.
Google's removal of Apple and Amazon from its marketplace could mean the companies collectively lose upwards of $100m worth of revenue. Although Apple TV and Chromecast prodcuts can be bought through other retailers, Google is such a prevalent player in the online products sales arena than Apple and Amazon's removal is likely to hit their products hard.