Amazon were always criticised for being the ‘enemy’ of brick and mortar shops, however they have been busy opening brick and mortar stores throughout America. ParcelHero, e-commerce experts, believe that we could begin to see Amazon shops opening in the UK.
Amazon have been the giants within the e-commerce sector for years, and have always been seen as a ‘shop killer’. They were blamed for the disappearance of many of our favourite stores, from department stores to toy stores, including Woolworths. However, the internet giant has been steadily moving into arcades and stores over the last few years. Currently Amazon have opened 19 pop-up stores throughout America, and they have made it their aim to open a further 30 stores by 2017. They even have a book store based in Seattle where they have three more planned to open.
The UK experts in e-commerce fulfilment, ParcelHero, believe that Amazon is likely to look to the UK for their next round of store openings. ParcelHero’s Head of Consumer Research, who aim to provide a top quality parcel delivery service, by making it easier, cheaper and quicker says ‘Don’t go thinking Amazon has had some astonishing conversion and suddenly thinks the High Street is the future; far from it. But it’s likely that Amazon will have 100 pop-ups in place in the US by the end of next year; and the next logical step is to open in the UK.’
David Jinks MILT (Head of Consumer Research) explains: ‘It’s not that Amazon suddenly believes it can sell more items from stores than it can from its e-commerce site. It’s really about presenting a shopfront for its technology. Just as Apple stores transformed its customers’ experience so Amazon’s pop-up shops in shopping centres help it to showcase its Kindles, Fire sticks and, above all, its Echo products. For Amazon to be opening so many of these stores so quickly, it must be seeing a notable uptick in sales in those regions where these stores have popped up.
‘Amazon very often uses the UK as its guinea pig for innovations outside the USA. It pioneered its own logistics arm, Amazon Logistics, here first; and the UK was quick to see Amazon Fresh 1-hour groceries and Amazon Flex Uber style deliveries. Pop-ups will surely follow hard on their heels.’
Amazon has even created a new web site about its temporary stores. It says: ‘Experience the full range of Amazon devices (Echo, Fire TV, Fire Tablets, Dash Button, and Kindle) at your local Amazon Pop-Up store. Experts are on-hand to help you find what’s right for you and your family.’
David states: ‘Shopping centres in the US and UK are seeing stores disappearing rapidly, partly as a result of the impact of e-commerce and home deliveries. This means as rents are driven down by these closures, Amazon are able to snap up a space and set up shop quite cheaply for a while with its attractive temporary stores.
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