NOW THAT’S A GOOD IDEA…
OUT THE BOX AMAZON FRESH HITS UK
AMAZON FRESH HITS UK AMAZON’S NEW ‘JUST WALK OUT’ STORE IN LONDON POTENTIALLY SIGNALS THE DAWN OF A NEW ERA IN THE CONVENIENCE RETAILING CHANNEL – BUT HOW MUCH OF A THREAT IS IT?
WHAT’S THE BIG IDEA? The worst kept secret in retail: Amazon Fresh opens its first ‘just walk out’ UK store in Ealing, West London.
QUIET LAUNCH THEN? Just a bit. Snaking queues around the block as shoppers took a liberal approach to social distancing to check the new store out.
SHOULD OTHER RETAILERS BE WORRIED? Yes. Despite many industry observers dismissing it as a single store with a questionable range and gimmicky technology, the move is potentially a watershed moment for convenience retailing in the UK.
WHY? In a word, data. Amazon already holds a colossal amount of personalised customer data thanks to its all-conquering online operations; its increasing presence in bricks and mortar retail through Whole Foods and Amazon Fresh means it is able to begin merging the online and offline shopping worlds. Mintel estimates that almost 95% of UK shoppers use Amazon, giving the tech giant access to an almost unfathomable amount of data and insight around
“Mintel estimates that almost 95% of UK shoppers use Amazon, giving the tech giant access to an almost unfathomable amount of insight around shopping behaviours.” shopping habits, trends, patterns and individual transactions – down to the individual human being level. Amazon Fresh extends that insight even further into the realm of bricks and mortar shopping.
ARE THE STORES ANY GOOD? In terms of ranging, merchandising and store environment, they’re decent, but not ground-breaking. It’s the tech that is special. On a trip to the original Amazon Go store in Seattle with a few local retailers from Scotland, we tried every insider trick in the book to try to steal something (after telling the staff we were doing it). We failed. The camera-based tech just works – and the bemused looks from staff suggested we weren’t the first to give it a go.
BUT IF THE STORES AREN’T THAT OUTSTANDING..? That misses the point. Getting the store right is the easy bit. Getting the tech right was the difficult and hugely expensive bit.
24 I SLRMAG.CO.UK / ISSUE 46 / WEDNESDAY 10TH MARCH 2021
