http://www.slate.com/articles/busine...home_multiline
Interesting article. I mainly buy books from Amazon and if it's an ebook, I'll have it in less than a minute. Regular books may easily take up weeks to arrive.
But, the other day I heard Amazon intends to open a store in the Netherlands.
"No scripture can mean that God is not love, or that his mercy is not over all his works" (John Wesley - Free Grace, 26)Post Thanks / Like - 2 Thanks, 0 Laughing
I am in the second or third year of a membership in Amazon Prime. It's been well worth it. While the books that I buy are mostly ebooks through Amazon Kindle, I often still have need of buying a print book, like the two baby bibles I bought this week for baptisms on Sunday. I ordered them on Thursday and went ahead and paid the $3.99 for next day shipping. When only one came Friday mid-morning, I was confused and had forgotten that sometimes when ordering multiple items, they'll come separately because they're in different warehouses. I got the second one a couple of hours later.Originally Posted by Hans Deventer
A few years ago, if someone had asked me about Amazon's future, I think I would have said it didn't look too good. But between Kindle and working very hard to become the best online shopping experience, they haven't only survived, but are thriving. While I do sometimes order print books, between my wife and I, we order even more things other than books.
Prime has also given me access to their online movie streaming. The selection is already way better than Netflix. If only they'd develop an iOS app, I could get rid of Netflix. :-) I may do it anyway.
Post Thanks / Like - 1 Thanks, 0 LaughingCraig Laughlin - "thanks" for this post
Yea this is brilliant on their part. They are cutting super big brick and mortar retailers like Wal-mart and Target off at the pass. The worry was that if those two got online in the same way Amazon was that they could harness their physical presence to do exactly this. Order it online, pick it up today at the store - or they could ship from a short distance. - I have been surprised for a long time that Wal-mart, normally pretty smart, has not picked up on this years ago. I think their management is older and not tuned in to the opportunity they squandered. Amazon has beat them to the punch and is big enough to hold on to the market share.
Fear not those who argue but those who dodge. -- Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach
In the past year, Amazon has become my online 'Wal-Mart'. The big difference is that I can find almost anything on Amazon, even highly specialized things like pro-musical instruments, industrial equipment, UPS replacement batteries, and video games that are too old to be in Wal-Mart's bargain bin.
Amazon's supply chain is so vastly different from Wal-Mart's supply chain that it is probably impossible for Wal-Mart to compete on anything resembling equal footing. Big box stores' main advantage (for now) is physical presence. If I need something today, I'm not even going to look on Amazon unless I need to do product research.
"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us wthout end, for they do so with the approval of their own conscience."
- C.S. LewisPost Thanks / Like - 1 Thanks, 0 Laughing
Irony abounds: This is the effect Wal-Mart had on the local vendor. I'm so [not] feeling sorry for Wal-Mart.
Post Thanks / Like - 3 Thanks, 0 Laughing
The difference is that Amazon isn't going to put Wal-Mart out of business. Unlike the mom-and-pop stores that Wal-Mart put out of business, Wal-Mart will flex to serve a market that Amazon is not well-positioned for.
I can envision Amazon taking a big bite out of Sam's and Costco.
"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us wthout end, for they do so with the approval of their own conscience."
- C.S. Lewis
Yeah, I think Wal-Mart is probably as a matter of corporate culture uninterested in rarer lower volume items. Where they could "dent" Amazon would be in hooking up the inventory of the local store to the the online catalog so that when one orders something they can see if it is available at the local store, place an order and pic it up in an express mode of some sort. (Drive up window?) They currently have the data up and running in the stores but local inventory control is rough. They would need to get tough with in-store protocols. That might be hard to do but it could be powerful especially with super stores that have very wide inventories.
Fear not those who argue but those who dodge. -- Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach
Wal Mart already has this, as do Best Buy and Home Depot. I haven't shopped online at other big-box stores.
"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us wthout end, for they do so with the approval of their own conscience."
- C.S. LewisPost Thanks / Like - 1 Thanks, 0 Laughing
Amazon is only going to get more efficient. Currently, all of their east coast fullfillment runs through a 250,000 sq ft warehouse in New Castle, DE, about 20 minutes from my home. As of October 2012, they'll be adding to that capacity, a 1 million sq ft facility less than a mile from my home. It's going to be a huge employer here and there's rumors of the capacity for us to walk up and buy things from a counter in the lobby.
...just my $.02.Post Thanks / Like - 1 Thanks, 0 Laughing
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote