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Could you, though? Even gig work at $10/hr is not exactly something most people are set up to just opt into for the tiny slices of their day that would otherwis
by mikepurvis 6y ago
Could you, though? Even gig work at $10/hr is not exactly something most people are set up to just opt into for the tiny slices of their day that would otherwise be "trip to grocery store."
I agree that the convenience of Amazon does create value for customers and that it makes sense to try to quantify that somehow; otoh that convenience also manifests negatively in things like unneeded purchases and comparison shopping paralysis. So I think the math on it is indeed a bit suspect.
- gowld 6y agoWhy take a trip to the grocery store for yourself, when you can shop for someone else, to make $10 that you can use to pay someone else to shop for you?
- mikepurvis 6y agoOr the other side of it, which is to see shopping as an experience and part of life, rather than something purely transactional where you pay money and receive goods. Though I suppose as big box and discount retail has eaten the lunch of specialty stores, malls, and so on, many of those other benefits (discovery, browsing a curated selection of products, trying things out/on, conversing with a knowledgeable salesperson, etc) have faded somewhat. But on the far end of all this, I'd expect the only brick & mortar stores who are going to "make it" against online retail will be those who can not just promise and deliver on these extras, but also persuade their customers that the extras are worth paying for, whether that's via higher prices, a direct patronage model, or the ability to offer an exclusive paid product not available online.