that’s all about amazon
I remember when the internet offered the dream of buying airline tickets without leaving your home.
I then remember at the turn of the century, just to try it out, using this new online CD seller to buy a couple of CD’s It was all the rave at the time. The company was called Amazon.
Fast forward to today.
My daughters live in Seattle. One day one invited the other over to play video games. One problem. She only had one controller. So she goes into Amazon Prime and orders one. It shows up in an hour.
I live in the true sticks in central KY. I love the internet for buying things, but an interesting thing happened. My wife “accidentally” signed us up with prime and I found out it has free shipping regardless of order size. I went through a paradigm shift.
Amazon knows the make, model and year of my four vehicles. When I needed a new tail light for my FRS, they took me straight to the choices. $105 (dealer wanted $250) and a few days later it arrives. Same with spark plugs, brakes, etc.
Yesterday I received the voltage regulator for my v-twin rider mower. $13 vs $38 at the parts place. It took two days. I also bought a water pump for my tractor, a Digitech vocalizer for my band, lighting for my daughter’s wedding in California , delivered to her house, not mine.
ETC.
It is so convenient and fast that about the only thing I don’t buy online is food and gas.
And this is not just affecting brick and mortar. It is affecting other internet sites. It is also affecting “non-prime” products. Yep, I don’t just go to Amazon. I specifically look for Prime. It means I just order it and it shows up. The convenience factor, be it in a rural location or a city where traffic is a nightmare, is hard to beat. It’s even affected our use of Costco.com.
There is very little need for brick and mortar these days. The number of people figuring this out is growing exponentially. I suspect it will die almost overnight. And then there is the impact on “individual product” type internet sites.
We are seeing a consumer revolution. I’d not put stock in any brick and mortar right now. A LOT of them are going to go away.
And this is not necessarily a good thing.
Another convenience Amazon offers is their re-order “buttons.”
I have a neighbor who is handicapped and has toilet paper, paper towels, dog food, shaving cream and other necessary items delivered automatically every six weeks right to her home.
This is in heavy city traffic and she says has been a God-Send.
I’ve also seen “Amazon Fresh” trucks in San Francisco where moving one’s car and finding a parking spot - anywhere - can be a nightmare.