The Trouble with Online Shopping!
I get it, we should be supporting our local stores, but Amazon is “too darn convenient.” I was an early adopter of Amazon and have found just about every way to utilize them over the years. There is no denying Amazon appeals to the masses with over 200 million users.
Delivery Drivers (media by Wix)
Never was Amazon’s power so apparent as to the ruthlessness they showed a competitor back in 2010. Quidsi had become a significant player in the diaper market with their Diapers.com. Here is a company with a loyal customer base threatening to become a major competitor to Amazon. Quidsi had become a thorn in Amazon’s side, and Bezos’s team discussed internally how to proceed. At this time, Amazon decided to drastically undercut the cost of diapers to put diapers.com out of business. You can read more about this at ARSTECHNICA.
The ARSTECHNICA article illustrates just how far a company like Amazon would go to drive out the competition. Unfortunately, we, as consumers, don’t have all of this insider information. We know only two things, Amazon had more competitive pricing and a much more extensive selection of products.
Diapered Baby (media by Wix)
As a successor to Diapers.com, Amazon created Amazon Mom with drastically discounted prices on diapers, wipes, diaper genie refills, and the like. Yes, I was an early adopter of this program, given my son was born around the same time (roughly 2011). It was a perfect concept, you create a list of items your new baby needs, and they deliver it to your front door monthly. You were paying for convenience and could not beat the pricing. Places like Sam’s Club and Costco were now higher in price.
Amazon introduced Subscribe & Save, and I expanded my shopping list. I would have all of our essentials delivered, toilet paper, dish detergent, batteries, paper towels, and the like. During the toilet paper shortage (pandemic), we never had any problems. With all of this convenience, our pantry and storage look like a mini general store.
Amazon took Subscribe & Save further and created Amazon Pantry in 2014 (Which no longer exists). I must say, I utilized this one quite frequently to quell my soda pop addiction. Most likely, I am one of the biggest reasons they ended this program due to the weight of the packages they delivered to me. You had the entire contents of one box and could load up to 45lbs within the box. I was one of those people ensuring it always weighed 45lbs with up to thirty plastic bottles of soda.
In 2017 Amazon started Amazon Key. It was a program geared to those people trying to thwart “porch pirates.” You could purchase a particular door lock and camera to place within your home. The Amazon driver could then deliver your packages directly into your home. The camera would keep the “honest people honest.” Amazon then expanded delivery now into your garage and even select vehicles. I used this service a few times, but to me, it was a ‘fad”.
Sometime later, Amazon bought Whole Foods and introduced Amazon Fresh. Now you could also order perishable items. This convenience has been lost on me thus far. You could get two-hour delivery in specific markets, and it does not get any more straightforward than this.
We, the consumer, love the idea of convenience. We loved it even more during the pandemic as Amazon thrived. Contactless delivery was all the rage. If you feared the packages had Coronavirus, you could leave them outside for a day. I know this was a thing as it was commonplace in my neighborhood.
I think it is vital for me to note, I use Amazon and my local supermarket. I still frequent the local Meijer, Kroger, and smaller establishments. There is still something to say about picking up “fresh” as it is also visually appealing. With that said, I can’t get over the “convenience” factor of Amazon and the joy I still feel when a package hits my door.
Shopping (media by Wix)
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