In a typically busy week, Amazon rolls out a series of services and improvements to its global sites. This is a summary of Amazon’s moves for the week ended Sept. 25.

Amazon.com Inc. is the No. 1 e-retailer in North America and Europe by sales, and is rapidly expanding its presence globally. It keeps its more than 180,000 part- and full-time employees busy innovating new services and improving the ones it has. This is a digest of Amazon’s latest moves for the week ending Sept. 25.

Expanded assortment and B2B in Europe: In one fell swoop, Amazon added more than half a million SKUs to its European product catalog. Amazon this week turned on a “Business, Industrial & Scientific Supplies Store” on its country-specific sites for consumers in the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Spain and France. The store targets business owners, similar to the Amazon Business site in the United States. That site, launched in 2012 and originally named AmazonSupply.com, now has more than 2.25 million products for sale.

Further, Amazon this week added approximately 34,000 food and beverage SKUs to appease the epicurean palates of French shoppers. Amazon.fr added a groceries category (épicerie) with 30,000 SKUs—think fancy chocolates and Iberico hams. Amazon.fr pairs it with a new Beer, Wine & Spirits category with 4,000 SKUs.  

Indian services: E-retail entrepreneurs in the developing Indian e-commerce market can incorporate Pay with Amazon and Amazon Easy Ship services on their own sites. “Brand and businesses are looking to convert their static websites into digital storefronts and tap into the growing base of online shoppers in the country,” says Amit Agarwal, vice president and country manager for Amazon India. “We have made it simple and easy for them to outsource their payments and fulfillment processes and enabled them to focus on their core business.”

Pay with Amazon lets consumers pay for orders on the web using payment details on file with Amazon. Amazon Easy Ship is an India-only service. With Easy Ship sellers pack their own shipments, let Amazon know they are ready, and Amazon collects the packages and ensures they are delivered in a trackable way. It can also collect payment on delivery.

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Prime sale: To celebrate its 67 Emmy nominations, Amazon is offering a one-year subscription to Amazon Prime for $67 (normally $99). The sale is one day only, and it’s happening today. Learn more here.

Tipping the tax scale: Amazon will begin collecting sales tax on purchases made by Michigan residents next week in compliance with a state law passed in January. With the Michigan addition, Amazon will as of Oct. 1 collect sales tax on orders from 26 states (See the full list of where Amazon collects sales tax here), including the 10 most-populous. It began collecting sales tax in Ohio in June and Illinois in January. Amazon has a development office in Detroit and a sortation center in Brownstown Township, Michigan, just south of the Motor City.

Holiday alert: Christmas creep is coming. Amazon sent some marketplace sellers an invitation this week to submit which products they’d like to have considered as a “lightning deal” on Amazon.com during the holiday season, with offers starting Oct. 1. Lightning deals are limited-time offers that are promoted on Amazon’s “Today’s Deals” page and often sell out quickly. 

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