So Amazon (AMZN) is having another Prime Day sale scheduled for tomorrow (10/11/22). Is this an attempt to front run other retailers by offering “merch” prior to the Thanksgiving weekend? Given high gas prices in CA currently (my local area has seen prices come down a little in the last week), AMZN delivering might provide additional savings
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The local media has been atwitter about “black Friday deals in October” for a couple days. I wonder what they charge for this advertising dressed up as “news”.
Most of this is planting the brand names in front of the public. The holiday buying mostly is six weeks starting after Halloween
It is absolutely true that it is more convenient to shop on-line than drag one’s tail into department stores and malls. It is also true that there is greater variety at a “place” like Amazon than at a store.
Other than the inability of trying on clothing before buying and the inability of instant gratification it seems like everything favors on-line purchasing.
That said, I’ve found, especially with food products, Amazon is significantly more expensive than local ethnic grocery stores for identical products. Even in the case of a more general item (8oz of Ghirardelli baking cocoa was half the price on the shelves of Target) they suffer from “Whole Foods disease”.
The “great equalizer” is the cost of shipping individual items vs. a brick and mortar store with quick inventory turns moving items onto the shelves.
There is also the taking for granted that an item shipped is an item received - and ignoring the potential of theft.
One advantage of amazon over many other sources (but not even close to Costco [at a discount price] or REI [at a premium price]) is their willingness to accept return of product which doesn’t meet their customer’s expectations.
So, it’s a mixed bag - mostly good, but shouldn’t be taken for granted as the lowest cost alternative.
So as in many things it comes down to how much of a premium are you willing to pay for increased convenience and customer service (which sort of explains how stores like Bergdorf Goodman continue to exist in the retail environment where Macy’s is dying on the vine).
Jeff
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It depends what you buy and what you consider “premium”. I use a variety of grocery delivery services–including Amazon Fresh. I have found they have a wildly-varying availability for many of their items. Most grocery stores have most items (excluding specials/sales) most of the year. Not so Amazon–or Walmart. I buy some non-food items from Amazon because it is convenient–and not a major price issue buying the same item (or comparable) elsewhere. I don’t own a car (total costs are stupidly high when you don’t need to drive a lot), and other transportation is not that cost-effective or convenient, so the analysis is more complex.
The ability to find items of interest in the Amazon world is hard to beat… While I like to support local businesses, running around the County to stare and compare is way too time consuming… Prices are at times both above or below local pricing, but our time, gas, etc has a value, too… Returns are unquestioned, simple, a lost shipment triggers a refund option…
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