Smriti DixitGoing online was the new initiative that took pace quite fast. Everything, every sector just wanted to go online either through their operational mode or through their delivery mode. A lot of funding & start-ups were the possible benefit that were experienced.
But; the recent buzz made by the giant e-commerce group Amazon has clearly signalled something different. The group on Thursday disclosed its recent plans to go for setting up of discount retail stores. The decision comes when the globe has just tried to adjust the pandemic thing. Let’s know more to get full information.
WHAT ACTUALLY ARE DISCOUNT STORES??
Retail stores are basically classified into a lot of categories. The most common ones are discount stores which are basically stores that sell products at less prices. They offer wide range of goods. They are also known as discounters. They generally provide apparels, pet supplies, home furnishings & office supplies.
INSIGHT INTO THE AMAZON DECISION
The company is basically making plans to set up a store that contains a mix of home goods & electronics. The company is looking to expand its portfolio of offline stores. The stores would sell the inventory that remains unsold in warehouses at quite heavy discounts.
The company would also start to open small stores at various pop-up locations. The stock in the stores are expected to focus on smaller items. There will be no stocks of clothing because it will occupy more space. The company already sells its inventory online through Amazon Outlet. Amazon warehouse is also used to sell the already used products. The company has given its vendors the right to bargain with suppliers so that they are able to return the unused products.
They believe on the principle “If it’s not selling, it’s going back. The goal is always to get the optimal return on the inventory and asset recovery.”
INSIGHT INTO AMAZON’S OFFLINE STORES
There are basically following categories of stores that are being in the physical form to cater to the requisite products:
- Amazon Books
- Amazon 4- star
- Amazon Fresh
- Amazon Pop-up
- Amazon Go
- Amazon Go Grocery
The company currently has 96 stores and in total 7 pop-up malls. While the acquired venture Whole foods markets also serves the customers through its more than 500 stores.
So, the strive to get into offline space is not something new that the group has started. Starting from Amazon Go; the only motive they focussed upon was to never let the customers slip off your hands; be it in click or in brick. This decision is also an addition to that.
Since 2020; the O2O trend has also been a major part of the market. O2O means online to offline. The data & trends completely give a hands up to the online business in the coming five years as safety & convenience is the top most priority. Apart from this the optimal return can never be ignored. The benefits of offline are quite unmatchable as you get the liberty to boost reputation & attract the customers by the only thing that matters them the most which is price.
Although the challenges are also quite large; but we should never forget that we are discussing about the giant e-commerce venture.