UPDATED 22:20 EDT / JANUARY 20 2015

Overstock.com builds a decentralized, ‘Bitcoin-like’ stock exchange NEWS

Overstock.com to take on Amazon with new VOD/ streaming service

Overstock.com builds a decentralized, ‘Bitcoin-like’ stock exchange

Overstock.com Inc. is set to launch a new video on demand (VOD) and streaming service that will compete Amazon, the company announced Tuesday.

The new service is to be offered via the Overstock Club O loyalty program and will start with a VOD catalog of 30,000 titles, CEO Patrick Byrne told an audience at the 2015 NATPE Market & Conference at Miami Beach. FL.

Bryne said that Overstock.com’s most loyal customers are turning to competitors such as Amazon to watch or rent movies over the Internet, and that Target and Walmart also offer similar services; Overstock wants its share of that market.

“We already have the traffic,” said Byrne. “We’re looking for a bigger and bigger share of their wallet.”

On the competitive environment Bryne said that he was aware Overstock.com was taking on big players, but the space had “really just begun.”

“We will be a competitor to Amazon,” said Byrne. “We think our loyalty program is better than Amazon’s. We give you five to 25 percent back on what you spend. So we pay people back for their digital downloads.”

Overstock.com’s Club O loyalty program also competes on price: it’s currently $19.95 a year compared to Amazon Prime at $99, and Byrne said that the company would include the VOD service for free to existing and new Club O members.

Based in Salt Lake City, Utah, Overstock.com generated $1.3 billion in revenue last year, and the company website receives 25 to 40 million unique visitors each month.

The offering is never going to be a huge one, but with strong existing traffic it’s well worth a shot, and as Byrne alludes to, Overstock.com is currently losing eyeballs to rival services, where its members may also be tempted by other offerings.

The new Overstock.com VOD service is due to launch “mid-year.”

Image credit: Overstock.com


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