The Financial Times reports that Amazon CEO Andy Jassy says that the company is ready to “go big” on bricks-and-mortar stores, despite the fact that in recent days Amazon seems to have put its physical store opening plans on hold.
Jassy blames the the pandemic for the problems being experienced by the company’s physical stores, saying that the “lack of normalcy” forced a series of “stumbles.”
“Remember, a lot of these opened right in the heart of the pandemic,” Jassy tells FT.. “So we haven’t had a lot of normalcy. We’re experimenting with selection, checkout formats, assortment, price points. I’m encouraged we have several that I think are promising … We’re just still in the early stages. We’re hopeful that in 2023, we have a format that we want to go big on, on the physical side … We have a history of doing a lot of experimentation and doing it quickly. And then, when we find something that we like, doubling down on it, which is what we intend to do.”
Some context from FT:
“Building a formidable grocery arm has long been touted by Amazon as one of its most important priorities. When founder Jeff Bezos announced he would stand down as chief executive in February 2021, he made clear he would still be involved as executive chair in ‘important Amazon initiatives’ of which grocery was one.
“However, the Whole Foods acquisition had failed to provide the bedrock for a broader Amazon grocery strategy, analysts said, with inconsistent store formats making it difficult to use the locations as local delivery hubs. Instead, Amazon moved to create its own purpose-built stores in a variety of styles, from corner shop-sized Amazon Go stores — which include cashier-less technology powered by an elaborate array of cameras that follow customers — to Amazon Fresh, a more traditional offering with a few tech-enhanced aspects such as ‘smart’ shopping carts.”
KC’s View:
I’ve largely been impressed by the technology that Amazon has brought to its physical stores, but too often, it seems to me, the formats have been there to serve the technology, as opposed to being formats that, along with customers, are served by the technology.
That’s not a semantic difference.
I don’t know about you, but somehow I don’t find Jassy to be particularly persuasive. The words seem rote, and motivations hollow. Someone should feel free to correct me if they think I’m wrong, but I find myself wondering who the hell is following this guy into battle?
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