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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

#311

Post by tsotha »

NatW wrote: post #213
wheels wrote: post #54

Amazon has been doing this in parts of Germany since 2009. The results haven't been nearly as dramatic as the article predicts. As others have indicated, the limiting factor isn't so much speed of delivery as the inclination to physically inspect items before buying them. That said, Zappos, now a part of Amazon, has succeeded in doing that in one of the markets that tends the most towards such. Even so, there are sti…

I think, non-dramatic european response may, in-part, be due to comparatively sparse product options on Amazon's european stores compared to its US .com offerings. I have used Amazon.fr while in Paris and have been disappointed by the limited offerings. Price is an issue, too: on Amazon.fr: when shopping for a TV, for instance, the prices were cheaper at Parisian retail stores.

Amazon used to consistently have the best price compared to the local retail stores (where I live in the US), but in recent years they've been tinkering with dynamic pricing, so if you buy something popular you're often better off checking around.

I can't complain about selection, though. Particularly if you live in an area without boutique stores, Amazon US is likely to have every product you can buy locally.

Re: How Amazon’s ambitious new push for same-day delivery will destroy local retail

#312

Post by robryan »

desas wrote: post #197
robryan wrote: post #177

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Without looking I'd be nearly certain that Amazon isn't going to take the hit for chargebacks on the marketplace. Appart from costing a heap it would just be inviting fraud.

If they're like paypal they just don't contest and pass the hit on to the seller unless they can prove otherwise.

Yeah, I have found PayPal for all their supposed fraud protections to be quiet useless with preventing chargebacks. As a merchant you are also disadvantaged in that you aren't able to access any BIN/AVS data on the card yourself.

Re: How Amazon’s ambitious new push for same-day delivery will destroy local retail

#313

Post by greghinch »

latch wrote: post #104
greghinch wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You've obviously not tried purchasing things in a 3rd world market, such as in China

China hasn't been a 3rd world country for some time. It isn't even close. Sure there are massive pockets of poverty (with 1 billion people, there are massive pockets of everything)...but visit India or parts of Africa if you want to see what 3rd world is.

I supposed you could call China not a 3rd world, but I've been to China, Nepal, and parts of Africa, and a lot of rural China looks like the poor parts of the other two. How people in poverty live in China is still quite a bit below how the impoverished live in western countries

Re: How Amazon’s ambitious new push for same-day delivery will destroy local retail

#314

Post by dkrich »

"I’d gotten next-day Saturday service for free. I have no idea how Amazon made any money on my order (the whole bill was less than $30) but several people on Twitter told me that they’ve experienced similarly delightful service."

I've got news for you- they didn't make any money on your order. Amazon is profitable but has razor-thin margins on the whole. They take losses on several markets, including Prime, gambling that the entire seamless, low-cost user experience will cause enough people to spend enough money to push them over the edge of profitability.

I for one have serious doubts about whether what the author describes (based to a large extent on pure speculation) would be a profitable business model. It's one thing to keep huge amounts of inventory in centralized locations and ship items out across the country over the course of days. It's quite another to stock all that inventory redundantly throughout every state. So if I want to buy a specific pair of shoes that I can't find at Foot Locker, is Amazon going to stock 50 pairs on the off-chance that somebody down the street is going to buy them? Probably not.

In fact, the USPS runs a similar business model. One would then logically think (if this article is any indicator) that UPS and FedEx would go belly-up. I mean after all, if I can distribute mail to somebody's house for $0.50 in a day, how could UPS and FedEx compete with that? The reality is just the opposite. UPS and FedEx enjoy such enormous margins when compared to the USPS, that they want no part of the markets in which the USPS operates and it's too late for the USPS to compete with UPS and FedEx on parcels and important packages. I don't agree with the author's prediction at all.

Re: How Amazon’s ambitious new push for same-day delivery will destroy local retail

#315

Post by alanfalcon »

rickmb wrote: post #226
Tichy wrote: post #196

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can't say I agree - shopping feels like a huge waste of time to me. Living in a big city in Europe, but still a shopping trip will take at least 1h. Of course for other people it is heaven.

One hour still beats same day delivery on every front except having to put on pants and leave the house. People for whom that isn't a barrier form a considerable market (albeit that they may be underrepresented on HN...) But also, same day delivery is logistically near impossible and quite expensive in exactly those cities for exactly the same reasons. The density doesn't make them car friendly, and certainly not del…

Online shopping gives you a wide selection, instant access to customer reviews, easy price comparison, no hassle from salesmen, and other conveniences besides the painless shopping experience.

Re: How Amazon’s ambitious new push for same-day delivery will destroy local retail

#316

Post by jordo37 »

wheels wrote: post #54

Amazon has been doing this in parts of Germany since 2009. The results haven't been nearly as dramatic as the article predicts. As others have indicated, the limiting factor isn't so much speed of delivery as the inclination to physically inspect items before buying them. That said, Zappos, now a part of Amazon, has succeeded in doing that in one of the markets that tends the most towards such. Even so, there are sti…

Highly disagreed. I think assuming that people want an in-store experience when the extra information from online shopping is such a net gain is just an old way of thinking. Look at some of the work coming out of the best retailers, are from some of the researchers at Accenture Technology Labs into the Store of the Future.

For many things, I care more about the information - does it work, does it fit, what do the reviews say? - than I do about touching the object. Even small retailers are starting to do this - if you look at http://www.marinelayer.com/ - they offer approximations of sizing based on your height and weight.

Re: How Amazon’s ambitious new push for same-day delivery will destroy local retail

#317

Post by sea6ear »

cglee wrote: post #94
wheels wrote: post #54

Amazon has been doing this in parts of Germany since 2009. The results haven't been nearly as dramatic as the article predicts. As others have indicated, the limiting factor isn't so much speed of delivery as the inclination to physically inspect items before buying them. That said, Zappos, now a part of Amazon, has succeeded in doing that in one of the markets that tends the most towards such. Even so, there are sti…

When Zappos first came out I thought they'd tank. I purchase new basketball/running shoes every 6months, and never ever make a new purchase without trying it on. Playing basketball or running with an even slightly uncomfortable shoe can lead to blistering, back problems, ankle sprains, etc. But my gf at the time thought it was brilliant. What I learned was that a lot of women's shoes are purchased based on anything e…

Cruel Shoes (http://www.aj.cz/celeb/sm3/sm3.htm)

Re: How Amazon’s ambitious new push for same-day delivery will destroy local retail

#318

Post by [deleted] »

nooneelse wrote: post #276
msutherl wrote: post #257

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most comments on my post are supportive, for instance this one: "You seem to be saying that as a defense of Amazon's treatment of warehouse workers. It's not. Read the Mother Jones article linked above [...] the unseen and unregulated treatment of the hidden workers who make our amazing lives possible is a huge, unsolved problem in the world." But I'm getting down-voted. Do people seriously think that supporting mass…

Yesterday I ordered a used book from Amazon, and remembering the static shocks in that Mother Jones article (btw, wearing a metal thimble to touch the shelves with seems like it would fix those shocks), I was faced with a moral dilemma. But how was I to solve it. Pick one of the higher priced used book options? How do I know they aren't using the same distribution warehouse and just pocketing the difference. Without…

[deleted]

Re: How Amazon’s ambitious new push for same-day delivery will destroy local retail

#319

Post by [deleted] »

nooneelse wrote: post #276
msutherl wrote: post #257

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most comments on my post are supportive, for instance this one: "You seem to be saying that as a defense of Amazon's treatment of warehouse workers. It's not. Read the Mother Jones article linked above [...] the unseen and unregulated treatment of the hidden workers who make our amazing lives possible is a huge, unsolved problem in the world." But I'm getting down-voted. Do people seriously think that supporting mass…

Yesterday I ordered a used book from Amazon, and remembering the static shocks in that Mother Jones article (btw, wearing a metal thimble to touch the shelves with seems like it would fix those shocks), I was faced with a moral dilemma. But how was I to solve it. Pick one of the higher priced used book options? How do I know they aren't using the same distribution warehouse and just pocketing the difference. Without…

[deleted]

Re: How Amazon’s ambitious new push for same-day delivery will destroy local retail

#320

Post by dr42 »

dinkumthinkum wrote: post #190
dr42 wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Never been to Walmart, no plans to either, why would I want to. I plan my purchases a few days in advance, know what I want and like that amazon makes it show up at my desk a couple of days later. Haven't shopped in a regular retailer for years. Except groceries, which I buy fresh every day.

OK, so what? I don't really understand this response. You're a perfect person. The height of physical fitness, nutrtious/organic eating habits, superior mental acuity, don't have any need for "The Man" or Big Box retailers, have ever seen a television, much less ever seen a "cable program," etc. Whatever. But billion dollar retail industries are not built on great folks like you. They are built on probably what you'd…

Yes, I'm grateful to Walmart for keeping the great unwashed from cluttering the isles of whole foods :)
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