At lunch while I was browsing LJ I followed a link from an equestrian community to Amazon (US, not UK). They have riding gear. Not just equestrian, but gear for any sport you can think of, even painball and fencing. Even cricket and rugby, non-mainstream sports in the US. At great prices. I didn’t look, but they probably have an Amazon Bondage Shop and an Amazon Cosplay Shop. This is amazing.
Amazon is going to rule the world. People back home would always get upset/excited about a WalMart coming into a rural area (depending on your point of view, but everyone gets pretty intense about it). “It’s going to kill off all the local shops” is the main negative point of view…and why wouldn’t it? Everything you need, at the best price, under one roof. One shopping trip, save tons of money. And yet, WalMart is nothing in comparison with the scope of Amazon…as soon as they start selling food, that’s it. ;)
The company that I presently work for is a manufacturer of luxury goods, very expensive…and their product sells on Amazon for half price. If I were a shopper in the States, I might browse on our site, but I certainly wouldn’t buy there…I would buy from Amazon.
How much more threatening is Amazon? Amazon is going to quietly, without fanfare, totally own the retail market. And why wouldn’t they? You really have to stand in awe of what the company has acheived.
PS: Guess what else I saw on Amazon? A new novel by Stephen King, The Cell. Phil…put that on the list for a late Xmas pressie…hopefully we will no longer be flat broke by then. :)
Amazon is impressively growing… still. However, the largest seller online is eBay! They’re still growing exponentially and take 50% of all sales online. If Amazon is a monster, then eBay is Godzilla! ;)
*squeeze*
Yes, eBay is huge…and addictive. Or so I hear, anyway. *blushes* But you can’t really compare it as a retailer, although eBay probably takes a HUGE chunk of business away from retailers, both online and high street.
Although eBay challenges the definition of what a ‘retailer’ is traditionally, it definately is one. It is now aggressively marketing and strategising with the best of them. :) In Retailer Week, they’re always talking about the challenges and threat of eBay. Funny thing is that the nature of the beast is such that their ‘sellers’ are making them even bigger and better – because the more work they put into their own little ‘shops’ and products, the better their own personal return…. the better eBay gets. Genius! If only I’d bought shares when it was starting up. *sigh* ;)
Yes, exactly. eBay is adding a lot of interesting web services for their sellers, and it will be interesting to watch as they get bigger and bigger.