At Amazon, the debate to set up brick and mortar stores used to come up at every year's planning session. For Amazon it was never simply about doing brick and mortar stores for the sake of having brick and mortar presence, but categorically how would our stores be fundamentally different (experience, value to customers). If there was not a clear answer to this, the discussion was punted to next year.
With their bookstores they have fundamentally altered the buying experience. And now with their grocery store too, they have fundamentally altered the experience. They only open it up to public once the "experiment" has worked. Expect this to be just the beginning. But over the "long-term" this will become the new normal. There is no question about that.
It is the long-term thinking that leads to these experiments and initiatives in the first place. Not all long-term thinking is alike (comparing Amazon with other companies). At Amazon, it manifests into every aspect of business, strategy, and operations.
With their bookstores they have fundamentally altered the buying experience. And now with their grocery store too, they have fundamentally altered the experience. They only open it up to public once the "experiment" has worked. Expect this to be just the beginning. But over the "long-term" this will become the new normal. There is no question about that.
It is the long-term thinking that leads to these experiments and initiatives in the first place. Not all long-term thinking is alike (comparing Amazon with other companies). At Amazon, it manifests into every aspect of business, strategy, and operations.