[Ads-l] Word: Amazonification

[Baker, John]

I would argue that the examples with Whole Foods are standard uses of -ify/-ification in connection with the integration of an acquired company and could apply to any acquirer, while examples such as the one from Scale VP are specific to Amazon and might be seen as the counterpart to the relatively more common term Walmartification.


John Baker


From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> On Behalf Of Nancy Friedman
Sent: Wednesday, March 2, 2022 12:23 PM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: Re: Word: Amazonification

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Financial Times, Sept. 5, 2017: "Is Amazonification Real?"
https://www.ft.com/content/ac8f5812-a8a7-35ce-8acf-7e3d96c2ea0d<https://www.ft.com/content/ac8f5812-a8a7-35ce-8acf-7e3d96c2ea0d>

Scale VP, May 25, 2016: "The Amazonification of Commerce" ("This trend of
using third-party software to keep pace with Amazon is what we call
the *Amazonification
of Commerce.*")

The Times has used "Amazonification" several times in the past. The first
usage was in 2018 (also in connection with Whole Foods).
https://www.nytimes.com/search?query=amazonification<https://www.nytimes.com/search?query=amazonification>



https://www.scalevp.com/blog/the-amazonification-of-commerce<https://www.scalevp.com/blog/the-amazonification-of-commerce>

Nancy Friedman
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www.wordworking.com<http://www.wordworking.com>
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On Wed, Mar 2, 2022 at 8:12 AM Dan Goncharoff <thegonch at gmail.com<mailto:thegonch at gmail.com>> wrote:

> I am not in a position to check right now, but this strikes me as a common
> and long used construction in the world of conglomerates, where they take
> over other companies and change the way they operate.
>
> For example, Wiktionary has the word "microsoftify".
>
> I would differentiate the word "Disneyfication", which has become
> generalized.
>
> On Wed, Mar 2, 2022, 9:47 AM Barretts Mail <mail.barretts at gmail.com<mailto:mail.barretts at gmail.com>>
> wrote:
>
> > Interesting find! Given Amazon’s size, I would have thought this had been
> > around for quite a while.
> >
> > Here are two hits for the verb Amazonify.
> >
> >
> >
> https://www.google.ca/books/edition/The_Leadership_Lab/MLlwDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0<https://www.google.ca/books/edition/The_Leadership_Lab/MLlwDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0>
> > <
> >
> https://www.google.ca/books/edition/The_Leadership_Lab/MLlwDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0<https://www.google.ca/books/edition/The_Leadership_Lab/MLlwDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0>
> > >
> > The Leadership Lab: Understanding Leadership in the 21st Century, p 90
> > Chris Lewis, Pippa Malmgren
> > 2018
> >
> > ###
> > How we have become 'Amazonified'
> > ###
> >
> >
> >
> https://medium.com/@jacobgottlieb44/how-amazon-plans-to-amazonify-whole-foods-6ec0f32041f0<https://medium.com/@jacobgottlieb44/how-amazon-plans-to-amazonify-whole-foods-6ec0f32041f0>
> > <
> >
> https://medium.com/@jacobgottlieb44/how-amazon-plans-to-amazonify-whole-foods-6ec0f32041f0<https://medium.com/@jacobgottlieb44/how-amazon-plans-to-amazonify-whole-foods-6ec0f32041f0>
> > >
> > How Amazon Plans to Amazonify Whole Foods
> > Jacob Gottlieb
> > Jul 31, 2018
> >
> > ###
> > Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos would be “Amazonifying” Whole Foods while he
> reduces
> > prices of items that most people want.
> > ###
> >
> > Benjamin Barrett (he/his/him)
> > Formerly of Seattle, WA
> >
> > > On 2 Mar 2022, at 02:21, ADSGarson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM<mailto:adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM>>
> > wrote:
> > >
> > > Source: New York Times
> > > Article: Here Comes the Full Amazonification of Whole Foods
> > > Author: Cecilia Kang
> > > Date: Feb 28, 2022
> > >
> > > [Begin excerpt]
> > > More than four years ago, Amazon bought Whole Foods for $13 billion.
> > > Now the Amazonification of the grocery chain is physically complete,
> > > as showcased by the revamped Whole Foods store in Glover Park.
> > > ...
> > > The technology, known as Just Walk Out, consists of hundreds of
> > > cameras with a God’s-eye view of customers. Sensors are placed under
> > > each apple, carton of oatmeal and boule of multigrain bread. Behind
> > > the scenes, deep-learning software analyzes the shopping activity to
> > > detect patterns and increase the accuracy of its charges.
> > > [End excerpt]
> > >
> > > Garson
> > >
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> >
> >
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> >
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