{"id":5570,"date":"2014-08-19T00:07:43","date_gmt":"2014-08-19T00:07:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/?p=5570"},"modified":"2014-12-20T16:39:28","modified_gmt":"2014-12-20T16:39:28","slug":"this-single-company-will-own-the-future-of-retail-via-openforum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/2014\/08\/this-single-company-will-own-the-future-of-retail-via-openforum\/","title":{"rendered":"This Single Company Will Own the Future of Retail ~via @OPENForum"},"content":{"rendered":"
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This online giant is starting to stretch its entrepreneurial fingers into every retail segment, both online and off. Are you ready for an Amazon-centric world?<\/em><\/span><\/h3>\n

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Last month,\u00a0I stated it<\/a>\u00a0on Google+ and I will say it again: \u201cAmazon.com will own the retail world soon.\u201d Amazon founder Jeff Bezos introduced Amazon\u2019s new\u00a0Fire Phone<\/a>\u00a0amid a flurry of excitement and the usual smartphone comparison speculations. (The phone officially launched on July 25.) While the \u201cwow\u201d factor of the new Fire Phone can be argued back and forth, the very act of developing the phone tells you something about the company\u2019s understanding of the digital revolution and the opportunity it affords to capitalize on the relationship marketing model.<\/p>\n

If you want to find out when, why and what people are buying and from whom, if you want to make sure your customers\u2019 mobile buying experience is the best it can be, if you want to be accessible at all times, what better way to do it than to have them buying from your store on your phone?\u00a0Your<\/em>\u00a0phone that consumers carry with them everywhere, loaded with apps to make their lives more informed, connected and just plain easier.<\/p>\n

Recipes, health and fitness recommendations, news, email, next week\u2019s schedule, all right there along with your storefront ready to provide everything they need and some things they don\u2019t even know they need. Oh, and throw in a value-rich Prime membership to sweeten the pot. Tomorrow is here today!<\/p>\n

The Future Is Now<\/h2>\n

Even without the phone release, Amazon is poised for the next generation. A recent article on\u00a0TechCrunch<\/a>\u00a0reveals that the online giant\u2019s tentacles are reaching into our homes in various ways:<\/p>\n

\u201cAmazon has been\u00a0tipped to launch a local services marketplace this year\u00a0to rival the likes of Thumbtack, Angie\u2019s List and Yelp. Now one part of that effort looks like it\u2019s about to go\u00a0live: The company is now rolling out a food takeout service, a direct competitor to GrubHub, Seamless and DeliveryHero.\u201d<\/p>\n

Combine this new service with Amazon\u2019s reach into\u00a0grocery delivery<\/a>\u00a0and even its\u00a0merchant services acquisitions<\/a>, and I see a big-picture pattern here that should have the likes of Walmart quaking in their boots. The company is leveraging its agility in the digital space, and it\u2019s distribution at its best, systematically reaching into the future of retail from all angles, affecting how we buy everything\u2013what we want, what we read, what we wear, what we eat\u2014and connecting us to that new world (and to each other) with a mobile platform and every form of delivery available, including one that currently is not.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s brilliant! It\u2019s ubiquity designed to grow and cement the consumers\u2019 relationship with the brand (and with each other as well). Its only real competition in this shift is Google, and that online giant is even starting to lose to Amazon with regard to retail search.<\/p>\n

Will big, retail location stores become a thing of the past? Will our way of life change dramatically? Well, maybe not tomorrow, but I think it\u2019s coming. Amazon\u2019s drones might not be ready to deliver yet, but the distribution system is already in place\u2014ready and waiting for the next evolution. It will be interesting to see how it all shakes out, won\u2019t it?<\/p>\n

How Small Businesses Can Compete<\/h2>\n

So what does it take to get the small business involved and competing? Well, extra time (possibly the biggest barrier), money (but really not much) and people. Make it personal and make it special, and the consumer of today will stay interested. With social media and mobile being so time intensive, the barriers to entry get higher as a business gets smaller, but are not insurmountable for those willing to put in the time, especially since it can be done at all hours.<\/p>\n

With social media, the bang for the buck can be enormous, but the results are hardly immediate, and a long-term outlook is necessary. My vote is to study up on the cause and effect, tools and concepts. Develop a basic strategy of what utility or value you want to offer. Get started on your own and build a thorough understanding of how to interact, engage and connect. Then empower your employees to help and allow them at the same time to build their personal brand. Hire a smart young intern to help execute a lot of the basic time-consuming functions \u2026 with your hands-on guidance, and you, the owner, always being the voice.<\/p>\n

As far as the bigger picture, my prediction\u2014and feel free to share\u2014is this: Amazon\u2019s global sales will surpass Walmart\u2019s within the next seven to 10 years.<\/p>\n

Photo: Getty Images<\/em><\/p>\n

Originally posted\u00a0JULY 30, 2014\u00a0American Express OPEN Forum blog<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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