Retail Marketing

Amazon Takeover

              It has recently been leaked that in the coming year, Amazon will be branching out from the online scene to claim a stake in the brick and mortar marketplace. After the success of the company’s 21 kiosk-style pop-up stores in the United States, Amazon wants to takes its physical presence even further. It is speculated that 30 shopping mall pop-up stores will be in existence by the holidays; these stores currently sell Amazon hardware including the Kindle Reader, Fire TV sticks, and Echo speakers. With pop-up stores being well received by consumers and Amazon’s determination to compete in every market, the company has made plans to enter several new markets.

              Amazon’s next steps include the launch of its grocery store pilot program. By 2018, the company plans to open 20 grocery stores in large cities including Seattle, Las Vegas, New York, Miami, and San Francisco. It is still undecided whether these stores will be open to the public or reserved for Prime Fresh Club members only. These stores will face main competitors, Lidl and Aldi, but if successful after the test run period, will spark the creation of over 2,000 stores by the mid 2020’s. These stores are planned to be compatible with the AmazonFresh home delivery service that Amazon is currently running which will make delivery quicker and guarantee freshness.

              It is also speculated that another upcoming move from Amazon will be book stores and clothing stores. Amazon already sells numerous clothing and accessory brands on their online store, so it would not be surprising to see products from big names like Rebecca Minkoff, Diesel, Kate Spade New York, Roxy, Calvin Klein, and New Balance in the new brick and mortar stores. Research done by Amazon in recent years has shown that consumers value the opportunity to physically touch the product they are buying. The company has tried to appease consumers through online efforts including their new feature which allows consumers to flip through and read the first few pages of a book before purchasing it. Although modifications like these can be made, they do not completely replace the experience of physically touching products. With the 18 successful distribution centers that have been built in Amazon’s most recent quarter, the next obvious step towards claiming a slice in the brick and mortar market is for the company to branch out.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/walterloeb/2016/10/31/why-amazon-will-have-many-food-and-book-stores-in-strategic-places/#1278983e4750