Amazon Opens “Instant Pickup” Points in US Brick-and-Mortar Push

Megalith

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Amazon is rolling out pickup points where shoppers can retrieve items in mere minutes. These “Instant Pickup” points are being implemented for impulse buys such as small foods and electronics accessories, but I’m not sure why someone wouldn’t just go to a convenience store for such things. (From what I can tell, only non-niche, fast-selling items [which you could find anywhere] will be offered.)

Shoppers on Amazon's mobile app can select from several hundred fast-selling items at each site, from snacks and drinks to phone chargers. Amazon employees in a back room then load orders into lockers within two minutes, and customers receive bar codes to access them. The news underscores Amazon's broader push into brick-and-mortar retail. The e-commerce company, which said in June it would buy Whole Foods Market Inc for $13.7 billion, has come to realize that certain transactions like buying fresh produce are hard to shift online. Its Instant Pickup program targets another laggard: impulse buys.
 
It probably comes down to convenience. I be all for this if can order everything via an app (tied to an existing account payment method) and just head in to grab my order.
Especially if they have a wide variety of goods and I'm not confronted by a dozen people needlessly asking to "help me find something."
I'd be willing to go out of my way if the experience is otherwise better and/or potentially cheaper.
They might be able to save $ with a limited sales staff and Amazon's buying power.
 
This is just the next logical step.

The States started making them collect sales tax, and then offered incentives to build local warehouses, so it's not much of a leap to opening a store front.
 
I'm by no means antisocial, but if I can get into a place and out quickly without experiencing the "sales tactics" these places employ then I'm happy.

I'd like to think I'm a polite person, but retail employees tend to force me to be impolite to get them to disengage.
 
Retail industry reporters: "Brick and mortar retailers are dead, online shopping like Amazon is the way of the future."

Amazon: "We're building brick and mortar stores, it's the way of the future."
 
Amazon is rolling out pickup points where shoppers can retrieve items in mere minutes. These “Instant Pickup” points are being implemented for impulse buys such as small foods and electronics accessories, but I’m not sure why someone wouldn’t just go to a convenience store for such things. (From what I can tell, only non-niche, fast-selling items [which you could find anywhere] will be offered.)

Shoppers on Amazon's mobile app can select from several hundred fast-selling items at each site, from snacks and drinks to phone chargers. Amazon employees in a back room then load orders into lockers within two minutes, and customers receive bar codes to access them. The news underscores Amazon's broader push into brick-and-mortar retail. The e-commerce company, which said in June it would buy Whole Foods Market Inc for $13.7 billion, has come to realize that certain transactions like buying fresh produce are hard to shift online. Its Instant Pickup program targets another laggard: impulse buys.

Called it when they started the damn treasure truck
 
Retail industry reporters: "Brick and mortar retailers are dead, online shopping like Amazon is the way of the future."

Amazon: "We're building brick and mortar stores, it's the way of the future."

Amazon is trying to be a jack of all trades. They're getting away from the "mastery" of what made them huge .. or are they just expanding it?

With this development, they're claiming to try to capture the impulse-buy market. Are the profit margins in that market worth the cost of infrastructure?

I'd assume they have another reason for doing this, one they aren't saying -- possibly these convenience stores will serve as mini-distribution hubs, allowing them to (once again) shorten the last mile delivery expenses. Would make more sense, as that's been a goal of theirs:

  • Amazon originally used carriers to ship goods (USPS, FedEx, UPS, etc).
  • They then reduced that expense by introducing their own intra-hub shipping network with their own truck and planes moving goods between regional distribution centers.
  • They further reduced that by deploying lockers (single truck delivery to lockers) and a turk-based (Uber like) delivery driver network.
So these mini-hubs would allow them to bring ordered goods even closer to the final delivery point using their own cost-effective intra-carrier network.

I'd be surprised if every aspect of their B&M rollout (Whole Foods included) didn't include some form of mini-distribution hub to facilitate reducing last mile delivery costs (even with their Turk driver network). They'll need this increased hub foot print when they finally start using drones to delivery.


TL;Dr:
I'm assuming this is all a master plan to get more mini-regional hubs, thus increasing ability to move large amounts of goods within their own network and reducing last mile delivery expense.

Amazon is a logistics company that happens to sell things. Just like how McDonald's is a real estate company that just happens to sell shitty food.
 
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Wasn't there something in a recent memo about companies ignoring their core product and diversifying into others which ultimately hurt their business overall?
 
Weren't they going to buy Gamestop? That would give them a bunch of locations for people to pickup their orders.
 
It does give them centralized distribution points for common items, potentially reducing shipping costs and increasing volume. If it is anything like their bookstores, as well, then Prime members get big discounts (which seems to be the item less the cost of shipping without Prime).

I think what this is more an indication of are the facts, we cannot be herded entirely in to one model or the other, and we will change our mind.
 
Gotta wonder how long till they become like the local BB and every time you walk in looking for something, and track down an associate, the answer is "no, we don't have that in stock, have you checked online?".
 
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<SNIP>

TL;Dr:
I'm assuming this is all a master plan to get more mini-regional hubs, thus increasing ability to move large amounts of goods within their own network and reducing last mile delivery expense.

Amazon is a logistics company that happens to sell things. Just like how McDonald's is a real estate company that just happens to sell shitty food.

I am not sure about this idea. From working at Best Buy twice in my life once in sales the other in Geek Squad (over a decade ago as second job) the layout is not efficient as a storage hub. Vast amount of space is dedicated to foot traffic and displays thus requiring extra stock to be in the back (which had limited space) or top shelf.

I think this will be like a boutique shop, example an apple store.
 
It probably comes down to convenience. I be all for this if can order everything via an app (tied to an existing account payment method) and just head in to grab my order.
Especially if they have a wide variety of goods and I'm not confronted by a dozen people needlessly asking to "help me find something."
I'd be willing to go out of my way if the experience is otherwise better and/or potentially cheaper.
They might be able to save $ with a limited sales staff and Amazon's buying power.

That sounds like me. I want to be in and out of the store quickly. With online shopping and local pickup, that's done it for me for a variety of things. I want to get a wrench or something from Sears. I order it online, then opt for store pickup. I don't have to walk around trying to find the wrench, then have to wait in a line to pay for it. I walk 2 ft into the store, scan my bar code, and in a minute, someone walks out and hands me my wrench.

Why I hate going to grocery stores. 20 registers, only 1 or 2 open and 3-4 self checkouts open. So I wait in line for the regular registers or I wait for ppl to figure out how to self check out. I'd love it if grocery stores had a refridgerated/heated lock box that I could just pick up my groceries from. Order the shit online, head to the store, scan a barcode, it unlocks my lock box. Grab my shit, off I go.
 
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