What You Should Know About the Amazon Effect

by Aug 28, 2018

Amazon has been a top player in the online retail industry since its beginning in 1994 with books. It only continues to grow larger every single year. This astronomical growth has impacted not only other online companies but the retail industry as a whole. You might be asking yourself, what should I know about the Amazon Effect? Look no further for the answers to this question and a few more.

What is the Amazon Effect?

The Amazon Effect doesn’t have a set definition in the dictionary. It is more of a trend. A trend toward more time online, especially more time online shopping. One that has been a long time coming.

 

Picture this: You meet a co-worker in the morning before work at a local coffee shop. Over two amazing large vanilla lattes they casually ask if you’re attending the birthday party of another co-worker this upcoming weekend. Panic overcomes you. Yes — you were planning on going but no – you haven’t even thought about getting them a gift yet. What do you do? Open up your laptop and go straight to Amazon.com. On today’s deals there’s a precious water bottle and after a single click it will be on its way to your apartment with a giftbag and wrapping paper. All with an extra day to spare before the party.

 

The process of buying on Amazon is so quick and so simple. Including free two-day shipping and offering one-click shopping spoils consumers. Now, they want this in ALL their shopping experiences, even brick-and-mortar.

 

In V12Data’s Guide to Consumer Shopping Trends, that statistics are overwhelmingly in favor of online shopping.

  • 96% of Americans have made an online purchase in their life
  • 51% of Americans prefer to shop online
  • 30% of Americans shop online at least weekly

These are high statistics and shouldn’t be ignored by consumers or companies.

How Does it Impact You as a Consumer?

Your shopping preferences are yours no matter what. Don’t forget that or feel inclined to give in to these shopping trends. You’re the outlier in the data if you don’t and that’s pretty awesome – honestly I would respect you even more.

 

However, this Amazon Effect is definitely something to be aware of if you’re an online buyer. Forbes informs readers that, “E-commerce represents about 10% of all U.S. retail and Amazon is by far the largest player, with an estimated share of 43%.”

 

As the shopping experience is moving to a more interactive, immediate, and responsive one – try to understand what keeps you interested. Why do you buy? Where do you buy? How do you buy?

 

Brick-and-mortar shopping experiences offer many opportunities that online cannot. Online shopping offers perks that brick-and-mortar cannot. A balance between the two shopping experiences might be the route to take.

 

How Does is Impact Retailers?

Retailers have had a tricky time adapting to consumers’ ever-growing desire for everything to be online, quick and easy. While Amazon could be blamed by these companies for lowering their direct sales, it is a trend of the technology industry as a whole.

 

Forbes’ article “What The Amazon Effect Means For Retailers” mentioned 3 ways for retailers to go about tackling this Amazon Effect including:

  1. Use brick-and-mortar to support online stores
  2. Track customer behavior in stores
  3. Leverage mobile technology in store

 

The important thing is to know about the Amazon Effect. This knowledge can help companies adapt to better serve their customers. An integration of online/technology with the physical store locations could create the perfect shopping experience for customers. One they wouldn’t be quick to give up.

 

What Do You Now Know About the Amazon Effect?

Amazon is an incredibly successful and intelligent company. It has every right to dominate the online retail world. In order to compete with Amazon, companies need to be smart, focus on trends in online experiences, and adapt to what customers are wanting.

 

Hopefully you now know what you wanted to know about the Amazon Effect.

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