From an internet bookseller to an unstoppable juggernaut in the field of technology and online shopping, Amazon.com, lead by charismatic CEO Jeff Bezos has shaped the development of the online marketplace, and promises to radically change consumerism as we know it. With Christmas around the corner, Amazon is filling orders by the thousands and specialty stores and local businesses are feeling the ill effects. Many consumers still shop for clothing, and particular items in brick-and-mortar shops, but due to considerable price disparity, a convenient mobile app and affordable shipping, many shoppers have already ordered their items from Amazon before leaving the building.
Bob Jones senior, Ben Keith, postulates that physical shops are “holding back progress,” and capitalizing solely on nostalgia and some consumers’ reluctance to change their ways. It is apparent that brick-and-mortar establishments in some fields are quickly becoming obsolete, and that companies will soon have to alter their business models to suit the “age of amazon.” Because many people are loath to part with independent local businesses and specialized shops, such businesses have experienced a gradual return of patronage in some subcultures. While this resurgence spells hope for small businesses, no one is immune to change, and even local stores will have to explore the online marketplace to stay afloat.
According to an NPR interview with Brad Stone, author of The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon, Bezos has planned from the beginning to establish an online empire that spans every feasible market. His efforts to create an efficient “everything store” entered the domain of science fiction when Bezos appeared on the TV show 60 minutes to discuss his business and to reveal a bold new development. His ambition is to create a fleet of aerial “drones,” which will autonomously deliver packages to the houses of amazon prime members in as little as thirty minutes. In recent years, talk of unmanned aerial drones is thick with controversy and laden with questions of morality, but the idea of these GPS driven delivery drones is tantalizing to online shoppers and sci-fi enthusiasts alike. Although these drones will not be prepared to launch for several years yet, Amazon members wait with baited breath to see what wonders Bezos will bestow upon them.
