Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) may be an online shopping powerhouse, but it increasingly wants what’s left of your local strip mall, too. First, the e-commerce giant acquired Whole Foods. Then it launched Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) Fresh stores in empty grocery storefronts. Now, it is partnering with retail companies such as Pac Sun and Sur La Table to provide Prime members with same-day delivery of their products.
Partners In Prime
The program, which debuted on Monday in ten cities, including Chicago, Atlanta, and Seattle, will theoretically benefit all parties involved. For Superdry PLC (LON:SDRY), Diesel, GNC, and other retailers, it’s a way to juice sales while off-loading the delivery logistics to the more-than-equipped Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) (same-day pick-up will also be available at some locations). For Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), it’s a way to wriggle into the love affair between consumers and their favorite retail brands — while keeping Prime users hooked on their $139 annual memberships, of course.
Perhaps most crucially for Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), it’s another win for the instant-demand economy – and yet another challenge for the rapidly evolving same-day delivery ground game of established big box retailers like Walmart Inc (NYSE:WMT) and Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT), as well as upstart courier services like DoorDash and Postmates:
In May, Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) began testing service with its vast fleet of contracted Flex drivers to pick up and deliver goods from mall-based retail stores. Flex drivers will be used in the new initiative, providing goods fulfilled from retail stores’ inventories. Orders that are placed before noon will be delivered before 9 p.m., Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) states on its website that orders over $25 receive free shipping, while orders under $25 incur a $2.99 delivery cost.
Retail Replacements
The new program will effectively fold countless mall employees into the Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) logistical machine. It’s a clever way of fortifying their employee ranks without adding to payroll, which is shrinking — last quarter, Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) laid off a staggering 100,000 employees. Even more staggering: that figure accounts for just 6% of its total workforce.
Big Shoes to Fill
The new mall idea benefits everyone, with the possible exception of the environment. Same-day deliveries increase the number of delivery vehicles on the road. And more delivery vehicles on the road means an increase in greenhouse gas emissions. Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), which intends to be carbon neutral by 2040, disclosed on Monday that its carbon emissions rose 18 percent in 2021 and rose 40 percent since the company’s first report of this nature in 2019. If you require toilet paper in the future, try strolling to the corner store.
Featured Image: Megapixl @Jetcityimage
