Voices

Deutsche Post Tests Drone Deliveries

Deutsche Post-DHL AG launched a test flight for drone delivery Monday, just about a week after e-commerce giant Amazon.com Inc. stirred a media frenzy by saying it would use drones to bring packages to customers.

Voices

Amid Drone Talk, Amazon Has Real Robots

Amazon got a lot of ink for its sci-fi drone delivery idea this week, but a more real and immediate robot effort underway in the Seattle retailer’s warehouses could save it as much as $916 million a year, according to one analyst.

Good Eggs Nabs $8.5 Million from Sequoia and Others for Local Farm-to-Fridge Effort (Video)

Founder Rob Spiro talks about getting sustainable food to consumers.

Sherpa Ventures Starts $150M Fundraising With $15M Infusion From TPG

Now the well-known Silicon Valley pair will have some walking-around money.

Kevin Spacey Goes All House-of-Cards on Hollywood (Video)

Thus spake Francis Underwood: “There are two kinds of pain. The sort of pain that makes you strong, or useless pain.”
house_of_cards

EAT Bus: Does It Deliver?

The mission for the lunch-delivery service is straightforward: Bringing good food to busy office workers.

Bill Gates on Steve Jobs on “60 Minutes”

Gates: “We grew up together.”

Interview: Bill Gates Talks About Tech Innovations for Vaccines Ahead of Global Confab

Solve this: One child every 20 seconds dies from a disease that could have been prevented by an existing vaccine.

News Byte

Study: Consumers Don’t Heart Same-Day Delivery as Much as Retailers Think

According to a new survey from the Boston Consulting Group, “consumers are much more interested in free delivery and lower prices than in the same-day delivery of goods ordered online.” Although many online retailers have jumped to offer this feature, the study of 1,500 consumers found that only 9 percent said same-day delivery was a key factor in online retail satisfaction. Free delivery and low prices scored significantly higher, although “affluent millennials” — shoppers from 18 to 34 years old and with a household income exceeding $150,000 — were more likely to respond to same-day delivery offerings.

Analysts Cautiously Optimistic as eBay Gets Ready to Close the Books on 2012

EBay is expecting the holidays to have treated it well, but analysts are a little more cautious.