How to Benefit From The Amazon Disruption

Two companies this week responded to the global Amazon disruption.

First, a retail chain founder vowed to match Amazon prices.

Then, a global online marketplace announced its guaranteed shipping program to match Amazon’s fulfillment promise.

No matter what kind of business you own, chances are you will have to take into account the Amazon disruption in one way or another.

But the good news is that the Amazon disruption represents opportunity for businesses looking to expand their customer base through multiple sales channels.

Amazon Disruption: Pricing and Fulfillment

In Australia, the founder of electronics retail chain Harvey Norman vowed to match Amazon pricing. The eCommerce giant likely will open for business there in September.

His plan refers to a coalition of retailers. But how the coalition would accomplish this, or what retailers would participate, remains to be seen.

A far more concrete response to the Amazon disruption came from eBay. The online marketplace announced its Guaranteed Delivery program to launch some time after mid-June.

The program guarantees three-day shipping, and offers free shipping deals on millions of items. Crucially for suppliers, eBay will give qualified sellers shipping tools to give their customers more accurate delivery times. Buyers looking to get items fast will be able to filter searches based on delivery time-frames.

Benefits of Disruption

Amazon, thus, puts demonstrable pressure on online marketplaces and retailers.

This competitive pressure will benefit sellers. For example, eBay (along with WalMart, for example) recognizes the need to confront Amazon’s fulfillment promise to make the marketplace more attractive to online customers. This, in turn, spawns tools and programs to build a stable base of customers that sellers can tap to increase sales.

This is to say nothing of the benefit of selling through Amazon itself.

For example, eBay recognizes the need to confront Amazon’s fulfillment promise. The company, in turn, creates tools and programs that sellers can use to increase sales.

Then there is Amazon itself. More than 300 million customers shop through Amazon regularly. When Amazon launches, Australian businesses will enjoy access to a huge, global potential customer base.

Meanwhile, retail chains still want to sell your products.

Thus, it is important for companies to develop a strategy for selling through multiple channels.

This has the potential to complicate supply chains, but the right solution will make it easier to manage.