Amazon has (finally) launched in Australia
After months of anticipation (it feels like years) US retail giant Amazon has finally launched in Australia, with local retailers bracing themselves for the impact.
The world’s biggest online retailer has kicked off its local offering, with massive discounts on millions of items including electronics, toys, clothing, beauty and accessories.
This news comes as “thousands” of local suppliers have reportedly signed up to sell their wares through Amazon Marketplace, that generates roughly half its global sales.
“Focusing on customers and the long-term are key principles in Amazon’s approach to retailing,” Amazon Australia country manager Rocco Braeuniger said on Tuesday.
“By concentrating on providing a great shopping experience and by constantly innovating on behalf of customers, we hope to earn the trust and the custom of Australian shoppers in the years to come.”
Since 2013, Aussie shoppers accessing the local version of the site could only access a limited selection of Kindle e-books and audiobooks, but now the full Amazon offering, excluding the grocery delivery service, will be available.
While traditional retailers like David Jones, Myer, Harvey Norman and JB HiFi are expected to take a sales hit, the real winner of the move could be Australian consumers.
University of Chicago economist and Freakonomics author Steven Levitt says, “In the US, the combination of Amazon and Walmart, those two are incredibly efficient and brutal competitors, which as a consequence leads to very low prices combined with great service for customers, which makes customers go in droves.”
“Consumers are greatly benefited by both the direct effect of those companies and the services they provide, but also the indirect effect, because it puts a lot of pressure on competitors to be better.
“I sure would not want to be a local business having to compete with Amazon. Amazon is brutal. They’re good at what they do. If I were a business owner, I’d be trying to think about how to work with Amazon as opposed to trying to fight them.”
What are your thoughts? Are you excited about the arrival of Amazon?