Amazon opens 'Instant Pickup' points in US brick-and-mortar push
1–10 of 34 posts
Re: Amazon opens 'Instant Pickup' points in US brick-and-mortar push
#2I believe there are a number of entrenched players in this space already. They're called "shops".
Re: Amazon opens 'Instant Pickup' points in US brick-and-mortar push
#3First impression was the automat ... people quickly refilling the doors.
Are there any left?
Re: Amazon opens 'Instant Pickup' points in US brick-and-mortar push
#4Some sort of mutant combination of a parcel locker service and Argos, by the look of it. Is there any US equivalent of Argos, actually?
(Argos is a shop where you choose the stuff you want from a catalog, type its product number into a machine, and collect it from a counter a few minutes after).
Re: Amazon opens 'Instant Pickup' points in US brick-and-mortar push
#5I believe there are a number of entrenched players in this space already. They're called "shops".
Except for my number 1 issue with shops...there is no way to check the inventory before you go. Their websites often suck at the store level inventory and if you do call customer care - and they do happen to send someone back to check it can take 10 minutes to find out if they have it, not just in their system - but on the shelf.
The elegance of Amazon is its logistics.
Re: Amazon opens 'Instant Pickup' points in US brick-and-mortar push
#6I believe there are a number of entrenched players in this space already. They're called "shops".
Shops have to present goods in an attractive and easily accessible way. An Amazon pickup location can be dramatically more dense with products;in other words they can offer much more variety in the same footprint.
Also if Amazon become good at having the items ready, it becomes a very different experience than traditional shopping.
Re: Amazon opens 'Instant Pickup' points in US brick-and-mortar push
#7This is pretty genius. Back at college, the regular USPS office looked like an Amazon branded post office. Almost all boxes had the distinct blue tape with the Amazon Prime logo. College students, though broke, love to impulse buy. Amazing move by Amazon.
Re: Amazon opens 'Instant Pickup' points in US brick-and-mortar push
#8Article doesn't mention this, but a big selling point is painless returns. Just drop stuff off and get your money back.
IMO that makes them a much more attractive option for items like clothes that might not fit.
EDIT: I might be wrong here, I assumed it was talking about Amazon locations like the one that recently opened up in my hometown, but that's "Pickup Point", this is "Instant Pickup".
Pickup Points do 1-day delivery and easy returns, I don't think you even need a Prime membership.
Not clear from the article if Instant Pickup locations offer those services too or if they're only for stocking common items with fast availability.
Re: Amazon opens 'Instant Pickup' points in US brick-and-mortar push
#9It's interesting to see a lot of recent innovations from Amazon are going back to brick and mortar (Whole Foods, Amazon Go, Amazon Bookstore, etc).
Re: Amazon opens 'Instant Pickup' points in US brick-and-mortar push
#10I believe there are a number of entrenched players in this space already. They're called "shops".
Except for my number 1 issue with shops...there is no way to check the inventory before you go. Their websites often suck at the store level inventory and if you do call customer care - and they do happen to send someone back to check it can take 10 minutes to find out if they have it, not just in their system - but on the shelf. The elegance of Amazon is its logistics.
Don't forget wandering aisles looking for the Chromecast Fry's helpfully stocks in the back corner of the car radio department.