Amazon.com Adds Video to Its Mix

Amazon.com, the Seattle-based online bookseller, today will expand into home video sales, a category many feel the company is poised to dominate even as it takes on strong competitors in books and music. The company brings its significant brand and customer base to a category with no dominant player. Industry observers believe Amazon.com will make this transition easily, although it may have a more difficult time with other categories. “It’s perfectly natural for them and will be a very powerful extension,” said David Pecault, senior vice president of Boston Consulting Group. “And they’ll have all sorts of cross-sell opportunities.” For example, someone buying the “Titanic” video at Amazon.com might want to buy the movie’s soundtrack or book. “I expect them to do extremely well because they have a large customer base and they’ll cross well,” said Julie Wainwright, chief executive of Reel.com, a primary player in online video sales that has 400,000 customers, compared with Amazon.com’s 3.5 million. “They’ll have tremendous momentum, and we might lose our No. 1 positioning, but we will regain it in about 18 months.” Amazon.com’s move into video may be the last easy extension it makes as it moves further from its core book business, industry watchers said. It also is launching a gift shop offering personal electronics, gadgets, games and toys. The logistics of sending some products can be much more complicated than for books, and Amazon.com might not be able to please customers who have come to expect that virtually any book they want can be shipped within three days. Amazon.com shares fell $1.50 to close at $126.25 on Nasdaq.