Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) is planning to expand sales of its Echo speakers to Germany and the UK.
The company launched the Echo speakers in 2014 and recently followed them up with smaller speakers called the Echo Dot. Amazon’s plan is to expand the sale of the Echo devices to the UK and Germany, thus breaking their exclusivity to the US. The launch of the devices in the two markets highlights the firm’s intentions to introduce the Alexa digital assistant into the international market.
Amazon revealed that it plans to tap into the European market first with Germany and the UK, the first two countries to benefit from the launch this fall. The firm is also planning to make Alexa’s skill set available to developers from all parts of the world so that it can facilitate new skills as well as app integration with the Echo. Amazon will team up with various firms including Sky Sports, Uber, and Spotify among others in the UK so that their services can be integrated with the Alexa digital assistant. This means users will have the ability to give voice commands to Alexa through the Echo.
“Millions of customers in the US have already fallen in love with Alexa and we are thrilled that it now speaks German,” stated Amazon’s founder and CEO Jeff Bezos.
The Amazon Echo is currently available for preorder in the UK and pricing starts at £149.99. Shipping is expected to commence in the next few weeks. The company has however introduced an offer where Amazon Prime Subscribers in the UK will get a discount of £50 when they purchase the Echo. The company has also announced that the Echo Dot will be available in October and its price tag will be £49.99.
Amazon is also giving out a packaged offer where buyers get one Echo Dot free for every five Echo Dot devices purchased or 2 free for a dozen Echo Dot devices. The company hopes for the same level of success it has experienced in the US from its new markets.
Amazon ended its latest trading session at $761.09, marking a $0.08 rise equivalent to 0.01%.