Amazon's (AMZN) vans have something to say.
Now we're not talking about those freaky noises the vehicles make whenever they back up.
Several of the internet giant's vans in downtown Seattle sported different messages, including, “Warning: Contents may cause happiness,” and “That thing you wanted? It’s right. In. Here.”, GeekWire reported.
The Amazon and Prime smile logos are still on the vans, but reduced in size from previous iterations.
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An Amazon spokesperson told GeekWire that the branding campaign started on Feb. 1 and more vans and slogans will be seen across the U.S. in the coming months.
PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images
Message Campaign on Vans
The spokesperson also said for now, the campaign would be exclusive to vans and not be on packaging or elsewhere.
Previous branding on Amazon vans, including the company’s new Rivian (RIVN) electric vans, featured a much larger Prime and smile logo on the sides of the vehicles.
Amazon, which held a 17.34% stake in Rivian as of Dec. 30, according to FactSet, began rolling out the Rivian vans last July.
Billionaire George Soros has been selling his shares of Rivian, while Ford (F) sold 3.8 million shares of the upstart electric vehicle maker, bringing its total down to about 11 million shares.
Shipping Costs Rise
Amazon’s annual shipping costs showed a steady increase from 2011 to 2022. In the most recently reported fiscal year, Amazon's shipping costs amounted to $83.5 billion, up from $76.7 billion in the previous year, according to Statista.
Amazon joined a long list of tech companies in announcing massive layoffs. Between November 2022 and the new round of cuts in January, over 18,000 workers were let go in what is the most wide-scale layoff round since the retail giant first launched in 1994.
The company posted better-than-expected fourth quarter revenues on Feb. 2, thanks to solid gains from its Web Services division, but fell shy of Wall Street’s earnings forecasts.
CEO Andy Jassy said that the Amazon’s “relentless focus on providing the broadest selection, exceptional value, and fast delivery drove customer demand in our Stores business during the fourth quarter that exceeded our expectations.”
The company said that it made same-day delivery “even faster” in major U.S. metropolitan areas such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, Phoenix, Sacramento, and Portland, Ore.
