Retailers pushed to impose the sales tax on Amazon. Now it looks like they are going to get what they asked for.
How Amazon’s ambitious new push for same-day delivery will destroy local retail
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Re: How Amazon’s ambitious new push for same-day delivery will destroy local retail
#32The only advantage local retail stores have is immediacy. You can buy it as fast as you can drive there (and park/find it in the store/wait in line). Amazon has almost every other advantage. Ive come to find shopping local retail stores more and more frustrating. Shopping without reviews or videos, and having to flag down employees to help you locate items. It's really hard to beat online shopping with one day or two…
No, local retail stores can be (depending on what you're shopping for) a lot more fun to shop at. You get to talk to salespeople and other customers, and you get to browse around the store.
Now most shopping isn't fun. Toilet paper? click But if I decide I want to take up drawing? I'm going to drive to a store, look around, and have fun.
But I certainly agree with your last point. As I see it, the advantage of Amazon Prime is that I never have to go to Target.
Re: How Amazon’s ambitious new push for same-day delivery will destroy local retail
#33It'll destroy larger B&M stores but I doubt it'll fully outdo local specialty shops. What you'll see is a stratification between hyper specialty B&M that sell luxury items only a tiny subset of people want, but are willing to pay out the nose for, and places like Amazon filling the role of Target and Walmart, being the catch-all for everything else that most people need on a week-to-week or month-to-month basis. Whil…
There's certain classes of non-luxury stores that should survive OK. If I need to find a screw for my (insert doohickey here), I'll go to Ace hardware, where I can try out the different screws in their bins, then pick the one that works. The same logic applies to lots of other hardware store type items.
Absolutely, any product that you need to physically inspect before you buy seems like it'd survive.
Re: How Amazon’s ambitious new push for same-day delivery will destroy local retail
#34In the chicago area, you can order from McMaster Carr (mechanical hardware), and get same day delivery. Any company that builds anything mechanical is probably ordering something from McMaster Carr. This isn't an impossible problem.
Re: How Amazon’s ambitious new push for same-day delivery will destroy local retail
#35The only advantage local retail stores have is immediacy. You can buy it as fast as you can drive there (and park/find it in the store/wait in line). Amazon has almost every other advantage. Ive come to find shopping local retail stores more and more frustrating. Shopping without reviews or videos, and having to flag down employees to help you locate items. It's really hard to beat online shopping with one day or two…
Yeah, but most of the time your local retailers will not have the right product in stock (unless you are very vague about your requirements).
On top of that, local stores are annoying: it takes time to go there, you need to deal with traffic, weather condition, sometimes shop employees being too intrusive and wanting to see you additional services (or recommending you bad products), waiting in line just to pay. etc... It's just not worth anymore.
Amazon delivers at my door usually 2 days after I order something. In case of defect they even come at my door to pick the malfunctioning product.
They are clearly doing what's BEST for customers. I don't even understand why local shops who have stores a few kms away from me don't even offer delivery services. They don't even think about improving anything, and they well deserve to disappear. No regrets.
Re: How Amazon’s ambitious new push for same-day delivery will destroy local retail
#36Isn't this just one step away from Amazon just being another brick-and-mortar? If this is the case, is not having an actual store that is accessible by customers (and coincidentally, the neccessary staff), that much of a operational advantage? Or is this just a case of the more efficient company (Amazon) beating out less efficient companies (Best Buy, Barnes and Nobles, etc...)?
No it isn't, because it's markedly less efficient. Amazon is, literally, taking the concept of the "store" and putting it online - yes they've done that already, but the instant gratification of receiving your item same-day; that's a true shopping experience that you, previously, could only really have with Brick and Mortar shops.
Instead of physically shopping inside of a store where you will have fewer selection, you shop online with a lot more selection, a powerful search based interface, recommendations, reviews, etc...; then have the items efficiently sent to you same-day.
Amazon is very successfully grounding the "internet" in the real world - and they are eating quite a few lunches.
Re: How Amazon’s ambitious new push for same-day delivery will destroy local retail
#37Looks like Amazon is finally bringing Webvan to fruition. Only took 11 years.
By building many warehouses before proving the idea works, they appear to also be repeating Webvan's greatest error.
According to wikipedia, Amazon has been operating Amazon Fresh since 2007 (the article draws a direct comparison: "It is reviving the business model of ordering groceries online for home delivery first popularized by such companies as HomeGrocer.com and Webvan in the late '90s.") and seems to now own Webvan.
I'll leave analysis up to somebody else, but I find this interesting.
Re: How Amazon’s ambitious new push for same-day delivery will destroy local retail
#38> Amazon has long enjoyed an unbeatable price advantage over its physical rivals. When I buy a $1,000 laptop from Wal-Mart, the company is required to collect local sales tax from me, so I pay almost $1,100 at checkout.
This is such an over blown argument. Sure, Amazon is ~7% (where I live) cheaper than traditional stores due to sales tax. But that $1000 Wal-Mart laptop has a $900 sticker price on Amazon, and most non electronic items are 20-40% cheaper than in stores.
If laws change and I have to start paying sales tax on Amazon, it won't change a thing about my buying habits.
Edit: They also have an inventory many times larger than any brick and mortar store. Whenever I go shopping, I have to choose between the least crappy option Wal-Mart decides to stock. On Amazon, I get exactly the one I want.
Re: How Amazon’s ambitious new push for same-day delivery will destroy local retail
#39This is crazy - I ordered 3 things from Amazon today through Prime and started wondering if/when a day would come when you'd have same day delivery from Amazon and what it would look like. I figured it would happen someday, but thought the complexities would be too much to handle for a while. Looks like they're way ahead of me. This is why I love Amazon.
I think this will come into it's own with driverless car technology. Once we combine the current automated warehouses with automated delivery the timescale and costs will drop dramatically.
Re: How Amazon’s ambitious new push for same-day delivery will destroy local retail
#40Isn't this just one step away from Amazon just being another brick-and-mortar? If this is the case, is not having an actual store that is accessible by customers (and coincidentally, the neccessary staff), that much of a operational advantage? Or is this just a case of the more efficient company (Amazon) beating out less efficient companies (Best Buy, Barnes and Nobles, etc...)?
> is not having an actual store that is accessible by customers (and coincidentally, the neccessary staff), that much of a operational advantage?
Absolutely it is. Real estate, depreciation, maintenance, utilities, not even to mention salaries, insurance... there's a lot to go into that.