The Amazon effect

[Ryeman]

Amazon is gearing up to open warehouses in SE Australia soon.

Stories of death and destruction in the retailing space threatening all established operators.

What is the U.K. experience?.

For established retailers, what has been the effect?.

[lol-lol]

2 hours ago, Ryeman said:

Amazon is gearing up to open warehouses in SE Australia soon.

Stories of death and destruction in the retailing space threatening all established operators.

What is the U.K. experience?.

For established retailers, what has been the effect?.

 

Absolutely love Amazon, am an Amazon Prime Customer and get a delivery most days (as well as all the great TV like Grand Tour).

 

The High Street is dying and why should I go out to shop, pay parking, trudge around.  At home I can earn a pound a minute working so it makes economic sense to just order online and have it delivered to my door.

 

Prices are usually better too than in the high street.  Same day or next day delivery, for free/subsidised under the Prime membership.  Other shopping chains, Argos here in the UK have reacted to compete with similar delivery times but Amazon generally have them beat in most sectors.

 

It means less cars on the road but much more delivery vans.  The arrival of Amazon revolutionises the way we shop, for the good IMO.  

 

 

 

[Ryeman]

Some say once they have destroyed the competition prices will go up significantly.

I guess we just have to wait.

[lol-lol]

2 minutes ago, Ryeman said:

Some say once they have destroyed the competition prices will go up significantly.

I guess we just have to wait.

 

There will be some competition, service from Argos got better to reply to Amazon but the Prime Membership is the big difference.  Somebody will always step in to complete but Amazon are massive with the near million square feet warehouses which they are replicating at quite a rate.

 

Often staffed by foreign workers and with the combination of higher import prices of goods due to weak British pound and rising minimum wages prices could rise for buying such stuff.  

[Clunkclick]

What we have been seeing is, especially during the period since the 2008 recession is lots of small and just short of medium ranking suppliers using the agency of Amazon, their web presence and draw to sell their goods. on the Amazon site. A small switched-on supplier can get the full facility of Amazon's draw, reputation and delivery standards - presumably at the cost. But its not all gravy for them as the quality of their supply and delivery can be subject to the much higher level of customer scrutiny, which is published as consumer reports attaching to each entry on the Amazon listing. And, these smaller suppliers have to stand by Amazon's return and no quibble replacement of faulty goods policy. You also find that Amazon may also be selling exactly the same goods, from their own stock, but through Prime and at a higher price. This particularly applies to books. So, as a customer, if you are prepared to tolerate longer delivery time, you will get it cheaper than official Amazon stock by opting for the "Secondary" /third party supplier advertised on the Amazon listing.

 

And, I think I recall, seeing some goods being sold by the likes of Argos as one-from-many secondary buying options on Amazon listings.

 

But Argos UK prices have rocketed in the last 10-15 years. Their origin, as the successor to the Green Shield Stamp gift shops of the 1960s, meant that faciltating the transition to a conventional shop,  meant they were initially developed  in the 1970s and early 1980s  as being good value. Now, when ever you go into their shops locally, at any time, they are rammed full of customers . . and prices have gone up.

 

And, I think, Amazon's delivery standards, as well as the general competitive economic environment have caused everyone to raise their game, not only the big players like John Lewis but also the one man bands on E-Bay. But, and its a big but, this service model has only been made possible by the earlier establishment and continuing development, over 40  years of Home delivery agents - at first the DHL's and City Link of this World, but more recently DPD, GPS, and one man bands operating as part-timers contracted to Yodel and Hermes plus independent DAs contracted to Amazon.

 

I would think that Amazon's delivery model really works best in densely populated connurbations. How it would stand-up to the the more distributed populations and distances involved in rural Australia (Or the States) is anyone's guess

 

Nick

 

 

Edited 23 March, 2017 by Clunkclick

[KenONeill]

Buying through "MZN.au" (disemvoweled to avoid any suggestion of a working hyperlink) does not (always) mean buying from a subsidiary of "Amazon Global". I buy a significant amount of stuff from retailers who use Amazon as a portal for their own mail order business.

 

As for "prices rising", Amazon's present pricing model varies the price of $item between 0 and full retail depending on a sophisticated sales/demand model; you might pre-order something priced at full retail but endorsed as "pre-order price guarantee applies", in which case you will actually pay the lowest price they offer at between your order date and the release date, possibly saving half the full retail price.

[CWARD]

16 hours ago, Ryeman said:

Amazon is gearing up to open warehouses in SE Australia soon.

Stories of death and destruction in the retailing space threatening all established operators.

What is the U.K. experience?.

For established retailers, what has been the effect?.

 

I would have assumed the same as the stories you've heard but I've just reviewed the accounts for a hardware store client. They've used Amazon to buy lots of items they've sold on to their clients. At the same time they are selling their own products through Amazon too to the extent they are now the 3rd largest customer of my client. 

I've come to realise that whilst they're a retailer themselves they also act as a platform for other sellers with access to a huge market. 

[Ryeman]

16 minutes ago, CWARD said:

 

I would have assumed the same as the stories you've heard but I've just reviewed the accounts for a hardware store client. They've used Amazon to buy lots of items they've sold on to their clients. At the same time they are selling their own products through Amazon too to the extent they are now the 3rd largest customer of my client. 

I've come to realise that whilst they're a retailer themselves they also act as a platform for other sellers with access to a huge market. 

It's obviously going to change the face of retailing in Australia but with different outcomes for all in retailing .

If you're a member customer, why bother going out at all if it can be delivered for less.

[Sad555]

The worlds your oyster Rodney sorry "ryeman" whots not to like?it does make the market a lot more competitive with everybody able to see the bottom line.

Edited 23 March, 2017 by Sad555

[CWARD]

With my client they serve a lot of tradesmen who I can only assume for reasons of time saving and using their credit terms decide to use them rather search Amazon. Also the fact that they will receive one delivery for all their orders rather multiples throughout the day or just collect from the shop, which will less time consuming too. Obviously they're paying more as my client is putting his markup on the goods too. 

[Ryeman]

Australia's largest home furnishings and tech is already whinging about the 'unfairness' of starting out as a loss-maker and then ramping up prices after they have eliminated the competition.

Hes good at whinging though ......and being heard also.

[Aspman]

Central and Local Government do everything to dissuade citizens from making any journeys in cars by making it expensive and unpleasant and also by removing a parking spaces and patrolling every area with target let wardens.

 

Next big companies set up massive warehouses, sort out deliveries to customers convenience (mostly), sell at low prices and give decent customer service.

 

Local shops respond by jacking up prices cutting staff and giving a a **** poor experience to go with the misery of travelling to or from bricks and mortar shops.

Government then supports local businesses by jacking up business rates by up to 300%, significantly more than that seen by the large internet companies.

 

Central and local government complain that customer must do more to support local businesses.

 

Rinse and repeat.

[camelspyyder]

13 hours ago, Ryeman said:

Australia's largest home furnishings and tech is already whinging about the 'unfairness' of starting out as a loss-maker and then ramping up prices after they have eliminated the competition.

Hes good at whinging though ......and being heard also.

 

Ironic, Aussies whinging... 

 

Amazon is just another global online retailer. I'm sure the Oz market is already affected more by Alibaba. That's who Amazon are taking on, not some tin-pot local outfits.

 

It seemed that out of town shopping malls would kill town centres a few years back, but most have survived.

 

 

 

Edited 24 March, 2017 by camelspyyder

[Clunkclick]

And the mitigating factor is ....... poor broadband or its restricted roll-out. 

 

 

N

[Guest]

I recently completed a Click and Collect from Currys/PC World online.  I chose to collect due to the added cost of postage and I would receive it quicker.  Received confirmation email the store had resereved the item and would be ready for collection when the store opened the next day. Delivery had been quoted as 'within 5 working days'.

 

The next day approximately two hours after the store opened, I received a telephone call from them stating the item was not in stock and if I wanted it I could try contacting some of their other branches locally.  No offer to locate it by them, or arrange for it to be sent to them from their central ware house. It was my original intention to collect the item as soon as the store opened, but fortunately I had to change plans at the last minute. This was the second occasion I had failed to receive a Click and Collect item from this store.

 

Email of complaint duly sent, and a few days later I received a reply stating; they were sorry about the inconvenience, they would rebrief the staff to check reserved items straight away, they would do this, and they would do that.  Almost the exact same response I received with my first 'no show' complaint email.  You will note, at no point did the email state they would arrange for the item to be sent to my local store, or even send it directly to me. 

 

One quick search on Amazon, and I ordered 5 compatible items for the price of one from PC World/Currys with free delivery, and it arrived in half the time I was quoted by PC W. 

 

Stores may complain about the unfair advantage online retailers have in low overheads, etcetera, but sometimes they are their own worst enemy.  The whole point of a retailer is to sell, if they don't, they go out of business.  I chose to purchase from them PC W by the same means as Amazon; online, so the playing fields were even.  PC W failed, ironically, to deliver, (and not for the first time), whereas Amazon did. Guess who is going to get my repeat business?

 

[Ryeman]

^^^^* that's the heat established old style retailers are under, no matter how good they think they are already.

It seems to be at the loss of jobs though unless you consider increased consumption is sustainable.

[camelspyyder]

One chain put their own stores out of business by selling cheaper online!

 

COMET stores locally refused to price match their company website on white goods - ridiculous!

 

I was all for keeping local people employed, but if the same firm will sell me a product 25% cheaper online what was I to do?

 

Anyway they're long gone now along with C&A, Woolworths, BHS and other high street giants...(and most of those didn't even survive into the full-on internet age)

[KenONeill]

"Coats & 'ats" is still very much in business; they just don't trade in the UK any more.

[Guest]

3 hours ago, KenONeill said:

"Coats & 'ats" is still very much in business; they just don't trade in the UK any more.

They are a Dutch company.

[SkodaVRS1963]

On 23/03/2017 at 08:05, Ryeman said:

Some say once they have destroyed the competition prices will go up significantly.

I guess we just have to wait.

 

But of course.

 

I enter into a market selling, say, horsefeed; I sell my product at a substantial loss (because I have a major financial backer who will cover my losses) and before very long I have 99% of the local vets practices buying from me.

 

When the last remaining supplier goes belly up, I have a monopoly so can do what I want with my prices; it's very basic market economics?

Edited 27 March, 2017 by SkodaVRS1963

[Ryeman]

Amazon

AI robots

DNA repair

all seem to mean less jobs for more people living longer 

a few issues to tackle there it seems 

[KenONeill]

13 hours ago, Fin69 said:

They are a Dutch company.

I knew that; "Coats & 'ats" is a joke name.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, KenONeill said:

I knew that; "Coats & 'ats" is a joke name.

I was reaffirming your statement that C&A were still very much in business. 

 

When they hit financial problems they pulled out of the UK to protect stores/jobs back home. 

 

 

[Paul007]

So when we have dead and derelict town centres because people are too lazy to go and get the stuff as it's easier to use t'internet, what are we to do with them all?

[SkodaVRS1963]

31 minutes ago, Paul007 said:

So when we have dead and derelict town centres because people are too lazy to go and get the stuff as it's easier to use t'internet, what are we to do with them all?

 

Lazy?  Or cost-savvy?

 

I recently went to Cabot Circus in Bristol town centre where you have to pay (very much) through the nose just to park.

 

Cribbs Causeway (a few miles away, out of town) has unlimited free parking and a similar range of shopping outlets.

 

Guess where I won't be going to next time I'm in Bristol?