Special Feature - Etopia Consultancy

Amazon over the last ten years

Our ten-year anniversary issue seems the ideal place to look at some of the changes which have taken place during Toy World’s lifetime. Here, Asha Bhalsod of Etopia Consultancy reviews the ongoing rise of Amazon in the eCommerce space.

Over the past decade, the evolution of both tech hardware and the internet has taken place hand in hand with the growth of eCommerce. Just as the internet has become the desired medium for marketing, advertising and purchasing of products, goods and services, eCommerce has grown to rival traditional shopping in many ways. Over the past two years, the retail landscape has evolved dramatically, accelerated by Covid-19, which for a time thrust us into virtual cocoons and intensified our reliance on digital infrastructure and delivery services.

Driven by tech giants like Amazon, which joined the space in 1995, and later Google and PayPal which launched their eCommerce initiatives in 1998, the overall journey of online shopping has undoubtedly accelerated in the last decade and is far from finished.

The most impactful changes that have taken place in the eCommerce realm in the last ten years, include: • The rise of online marketplaces • The seamless shift to using mwobile devices for online shopping • The tremendous growth of online and digital marketing and advertising. • The practice of using digital modifications or enhancements in sales and consumer shopping.

Cue ‘Q-commerce’, which is short for quick commerce. Q-commerce is regarded as the next-generation of eCommerce and is all about optimising delivery time to serve customers better. Tech advancements have improved the customer’s online journey to such an extent that they have become more trusting and reliant on online shopping. Nowadays, consumers buy everything from clothes to even cars with simple, quick clicks on their smartphone. Speed of delivery has become increasingly important in the current climate. Covid-19 has certainly accelerated doorstep delivery, and customers began to appreciate the speed, choice, ease, convenience and safety of online delivery platforms.

Through the last decade of eCommerce growth, Amazon made two-day delivery the industry standard. As we close the decade, Amazon is pushing the speed of eCommerce shipping even faster, with one-day and even same-day delivery, adapting seamlessly to Q-commerce. The convenience of 24/7 shopping, the ability to buy hardto-find or specialty items, and the ease of comparison shopping have all been factors in the continued growth of eCommerce sales.

‘M-Commerce’, or mobile commerce, has continued to grow, and over 2b people regularly make eCommerce purchases worldwide. The prediction is that nearly 73% of eCommerce sales will take place on mobile devices in 2021. Globally, around one-third of people make an online purchase at least once per week.

Although the concept of ‘phygital’ has been around for several years, it started gaining traction at the height of the pandemic. Phygital is simply a combination of physical and digital. The reason for this is simple: more companies were clamouring to quickly adjust their strategies to digitally accomplish tasks that had previously been accomplished in person. Because of the exponential advancement of technology, customers have become comfortable using a mobile app to ‘walk the aisles’ for them. Amazon Go is a great example of how this marketplace has embraced technology to allow checkout-free shopping experiences.

I have always been a passionate advocate about adopting an Amazon mindset. It simply doesn’t make sense to expect success on Amazon when your eCommerce strategy does not align with the landscape changes. Over the last 10 years, Amazon has typically been treated like a Tier 2 or Tier 3 account. However, Amazon is not just another sales account - it’s a formidable marketplace with extensive marketing clout. The pandemic highlighted the need to treat Amazon as a Tier 1 account, and those that did benefited from a head start in the accelerated shift to online.

Looking forward, just as the pandemic has transformed how we do business and relate to our sales environment differently, brands need to examine their internal structures and mobilise a dedicated team with an almost unwavering commitment to eCommerce and Amazon. Traditional marketing like TV, PR, etc. should not be completely replaced: however, a transformed approach should be taken. When you have an Amazon mindset, you are instinctively going to push your marketing teams to allocate budget to Amazon Advertising, as well as your other sales initiatives. At the end of the day, it’s all about balance. You need to decide how far you would like to tip the Amazon scales in your favour. Amazon account managers require different skills than national or key account managers; you will have to recruit differently for Amazon. And it’s no secret that forecasting has been turned on its head. The importance of keeping Amazon in stock has changed the business forecasting process forever, so make sure that you have a data analyst in your team to keep track of the trends.

So, what’s next for eCommerce? Based on the trends we’ve seen we can only expect more growth in the future. It’s clear that in this internet age, eCommerce is here to stay, bringing a world of new opportunities for businesses, from drone deliveries to voice commerce. The next 10 years in eCommerce is undoubtedly going to be fascinating. But brace yourselves - before we even think that far ahead, we have Q4 coming up and our favourite time of year, trading terms negotiations with Amazon!