5 ms·

Does anybody know if Amazon partners with large grocery chains? Seems to me that if Amazon.com was the last mile delivery/fulfillment service for already exist

Does anybody know if Amazon partners with large grocery chains? Seems to me that if Amazon.com was the last mile delivery/fulfillment service for already existing brick-and-mortar grocery chains, then they wouldn't be competing and maybe the grocery chains might actually go for it? Maybe there is a first mover advantage for a chain who partners with Amazon. They could piggyback the service on top of the grocery chain's existing infrastructure and exploit Amazon's infrastructure and scale at the same time. Maybe that way, the physical grocery stores could still keep their doors open, lower prices, perhaps be reduced in size and become more of a local warehouse.

natrius 13y ago
Sounds a lot like the Borders strategy. It worked well for Amazon. For Borders? Not so much.
- sixdimensional 13y ago
  Good point. It seems like a non-starter all the way around because I'm sure grocery stores have thought about running this operation themselves. References regarding the Borders comment: - http://money.cnn.com/2001/04/11/companies/amazon/ http://money.cnn.com/2001/04/11/companies/amazon/ - http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-07-19/borders-champagne-toast-to-amazon-s-bezos-marked-start-of-chain-s-demise.html http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-07-19/borders-champagne-t... - Google Trends showing Border's demise? http://www.google.com/trends/explore?q=borders%2C+amazon.com#q=borders%2C%20amazon.com&cmpt=q http://www.google.com/trends/explore?q=borders%2C+amazon.com... It's still amazing that one can't go online to order groceries and have them delivered from a local grocery store, especially on a recurring basis. It would be a nice amenity. Does it really boil down to grocery store + eCommerce = politically/financially/practically hard problem? Seems like there must be some solution that would work.
  - sfall 13y ago
    I don't think amazon would want to trust a third party with a new venture
  - mikeash 13y ago
    Many stores already do run similar operations themselves, in fact. Both Safeway and Giant do around here (northern VA), for example.
MartinCron 13y ago
In Seattle, they have been partnering with small specialty retail shops, bakeries and restaurants. Some examples: Pike Place Fish co, Top Pot Doughnuts, Trophy Cupcakes, Macrina Bakery, Beecher's cheese. Now I'm all hungry. Thanks.

natrius 13y ago

Sounds a lot like the Borders strategy. It worked well for Amazon. For Borders? Not so much.

sixdimensional 13y ago
Good point. It seems like a non-starter all the way around because I'm sure grocery stores have thought about running this operation themselves. References regarding the Borders comment: - http://money.cnn.com/2001/04/11/companies/amazon/ http://money.cnn.com/2001/04/11/companies/amazon/ - http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-07-19/borders-champagne-toast-to-amazon-s-bezos-marked-start-of-chain-s-demise.html http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-07-19/borders-champagne-t... - Google Trends showing Border's demise? http://www.google.com/trends/explore?q=borders%2C+amazon.com#q=borders%2C%20amazon.com&cmpt=q http://www.google.com/trends/explore?q=borders%2C+amazon.com... It's still amazing that one can't go online to order groceries and have them delivered from a local grocery store, especially on a recurring basis. It would be a nice amenity. Does it really boil down to grocery store + eCommerce = politically/financially/practically hard problem? Seems like there must be some solution that would work.
- sfall 13y ago
  I don't think amazon would want to trust a third party with a new venture
- mikeash 13y ago
  Many stores already do run similar operations themselves, in fact. Both Safeway and Giant do around here (northern VA), for example.

MartinCron 13y ago

In Seattle, they have been partnering with small specialty retail shops, bakeries and restaurants. Some examples: Pike Place Fish co, Top Pot Doughnuts, Trophy Cupcakes, Macrina Bakery, Beecher's cheese. Now I'm all hungry. Thanks.