Page 43 - index

app (most likely with a bar code in the app), pick up the “This is where the real convenience of online grocery
things they need and then walk out of the store. shopping lies,” Orsini said. “It also solves two other is-
sues related to online grocery shopping: shoppers can
Actually, the Seattle store is just one of several grocery receive their order within a couple of hours, and there
store formats that Amazon plans to explore, according to are no delivery charges to increase the cost of doing
eMarketer. The other two concepts combine online or- online shopping.”
dering with pickup, eliminating the delivery option—one
of the costliest aspects of online grocery shopping. This click-and-collect model of shopping has already
gained a lot of traction in Europe and starts to gain
“The move to brick-and-mortar is necessary for Amazon steam in the US, too. How it will gain momentum in
to compete—and perhaps succeed—in the grocery retail Southeast Asia, we will see, considering Amazon’s
arena,” said eMarketer analyst Patricia Orsini. “And they launch in Singapore early next year. Not only is the city
are serious about winning in this space, evidenced by state easy to service from an operational perspective,
the fact that Amazon [is trying out] several different but the customer culture and spend is more closely
shopping formats.” aligned with Western markets where Amazon has al-
ready striking successes. Not to mention that Singa-
Another Amazon concept is that a shopper could place pore represents a vantage point to enter adjacent
an order online, drive a few miles to a store where the emerging markets and can be a convenient first landing
order is waiting and pull in to a designated parking spot point and headquarter for the region. ◊
where someone would load the groceries into their car.
By Daniela La Marca

MediaBUZZ Pte Ltd - Independant ePublisher for Asia