Annotated Bibliography: Amazon
This 30 second ad starts off with a young man, who just got offered a new job over a video conference call. The man appears to be very well dressed as he is wearing a suit and a tie, and is well groomed. However when he ends the call and rolls back in his chair, the camera pans to his whole body where we can see he is wearing sport shorts and tube socks. His celebratory expression is soon changed when he also notices the mismatch appearance. Then he says, “I have to get some clothes”. In the next frame, he is on the mobile Amazon app, where he clicks one button, and instantly a box appears on his bed. With each article of clothing he pulls out of the box, he seems to gain confidence, for he practices talking to his new imaginary co-workers. Then he is seen putting back clothing in the box that he did not want and it disappears. Next, the screen turns the iconic Amazon blue color and the sentence “Thousands of brands, Only pay for what you keep” is displayed across the screen (Amazon). The way that the man in the video was able to painlessly order clothes and have it instantly show up, gives viewers the idea that buying from Amazon will be quick and accessible. Also, the clothing that they get will give them a new sense of confidence and success.
Amazon chose to market towards younger millennials who may possibly be getting accepted to their first adult job, and may not have the proper clothing to suit their new workplace. By enticing them with the ease of access to new clothing, they are more likely to buy the box. Because customers are able to return any items that they do not want, there is no commitment of purchasing expensive clothing. In this video, undercover workers were sent to analyze the stress level in the Amazon workplace. Reporter Richard Bilton wanted to see the impact mobile shopping has on the retailers, especially Amazon who has become one of the biggest, and most popular online shopping retailers. Bilton starts out by asking people walking down the street, how much of their shopping will be done online. In most of the responses people described online shopping as quick, easy, trustworthy, exciting and cheap. Business analyst Lisa Byfield-Green said that “[Amazon] is still continuing to grow at a phenomenal rate”. This is mainly in part to the fact that Amazon is able to sell so much in part to their established customer base. Bilton then goes on to describe the process of buying items from Amazon. Once a customer confirms their order, the order is sent to warehouses that hold large quantities of the items that people buy.
These warehouses are very large and can employ around 20,000 people, depending on the time of year and the holiday season. However the workers unions do not like these warehouses, because of the working conditions the workers face everyday. Paul Kenny the General Secretary of GMB union stated that “The level of pressure on people is just incredible. I mean, I’ve never seen anything like it”. Many former workers also agree. They described the job as depressing, disgusting and an eerily gloomy place. However when presented with these descriptions of the job, Amazon made clear that they only came from a small group of the workers. So Bilton decided to put a camera on an undercover worker to see what the working conditions were really like. They collaborated with a former security guard to get a camera in, which is difficult because workers have to go through airport-style security. They sent in a fit, 23 year old graduate assistant named Adam Littler. He got a job as a picker, where he collects items throughout the warehouse that people have ordered. He is controlled by a handheld scanner that tells him where to go and gives him a set amount of seconds to get there and scan the next item. If he does not get there in time or scan the item, a alarm will go off. He was given a wristband tracker that records how far he has walked in a day.
On an average day-shift he would walk close to 6 miles in four hours. However when he got moved to the 10 and a half hour night shift, he walked close to 11 miles. He also has to push around a heavy cart full of the items that he picked, across four levels of the warehouse. By the end of his shift Adam’s feet are aching and covered in blisters. To add on to the poor working conditions, the large warehouses have sensory activated lights that do not always turn on. Forcing workers to find what they need in the dark. Expert Giles Bedloe claims that “if the work involves heavy physical or mental strain, then that night worker should not work more than 8 hours”. The Scottish and Welsh government awarded Amazon money and resources in return for local jobs. But in doing this hurts local businesses owners who struggle to keep up with Amazon's low prices. The Amazon workers face a tough job as they have to keep up with the tight schedule their hand held scanner keeps them to. They are expected to pick 110 items per hour, which is roughly two every minute. The scanner will keep his pace throughout the shift. Many of the workers struggle to reach the 110 picking goal every shift and receive disciplinary points. If a worker receives 3 points they are fired. Adam is against the clock for each step of his day, where his hand-held scanner controls his every move. The harsh constant beeping of the scanner when Adam is behind his schedule or he scans the wrong item, is starting to give him nightmares. Adam has received one and a half disciplinary points; a half point for being two minutes late, and one for being out sick.
When Adam has blisters on his feet so bad that he can not walk, he gets moved to a smaller area with less walking, but he has a higher target number of products he needs to pick. Adam resigns the next week when Bilton believes they have enough footage. This video gives an insightful view into how Amazon is able to keep their low prices, but at what cost to the employees. It raises ethical questions about the health of the workers, and whether a company can look past the mental and physical needs of their employees just to sell products at a cheaper price. Bhattacharyya, Suman, and Hilary Milnes. “Amazon's 4-Star Store Shows What the Future of Multi Brand Retail Could Look Like. ” Digiday, Digiday, 27 Sept. 2018, digiday. com/ retail/amazon-4-star-store-future/. This article describes how amazon is redesigning their retail stores where customers feedback determines what gets placed on the shelves, rather than buyers. This adds new pressures to the brands who have to rely on other data besides buying records. It also can limit brands from marking down the prices of products that are not selling. This model seems to be working; Jim Cusson, president of retail marketing agency Theory House stated, “It’s the absolute best use of data we’ve seen so far,” (Bhattacharyya). IHL reported that some retailers will overstock the products that are predicted to be popular. In order to clear the shelves, many companies will sell the overstock to mark off stores like Marshalls and TJMaxx, that sell it at reduced prices. Due to the amount of data Amazon has on its online customers, if they were to open retail stores they would have a major advantage. In one of these Amazon stores, all of the products on the shelves have to have a rating of at least four stars online, and are therefore top selling products.
This will likely push other retailers to use customer based data to keep up with the changing markets. This article expounds how changes in data will not limit retailers, but it will force them to evolve. Grossman, Lin. What the Amazon Effect Means For Retailers. Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 22 Feb. 2018 www. forbes. com. With greater access to the internet, it is no wonder people are spending more time online, where most people are also spending. But while most people spend money online, that money winds up going to brick-and-mortar stores. So companies wind up spending more to provide better customers experiences. Since the creation of Amazon in 1944, the way people have shopped has drastically changed. The switch from buying in person to buying online is commonly referred to as the “Amazon effect” where customers grew to expect a frictionless shopping experience with immediate results. And it is not isolated, all over the world, store fronts are closing down because they can not compete with the online retail prices. Some retailers like Nordstrom have changed the way they use their storefronts, making them more accessible and more directed towards online customers. By changing the idea and the business model, the stores can be “designed to serve the online experience, not compete with it” (Grossman). Other companies are taking similar approaches to match physical customer service with the online shopping experience. Rent The Runway CEO Jennifer Hayman implied that nearly all the buying is done online, where as physical stores only make 10 percent of the company sales. But the stores provide professional quality, personalized styling. This one-on-one attention can not be recreated online. Digital tools can also help the physical stores by providing data on the customers who walk into the store.
One company, Loli and Pops Candy, used the data to figure out why the higher priced candy was not being sold. They came to the realization that a table blocked the customers access to the shelf where the candy was. Using this technology can save money on marketing because companies are able to rely on their customer service to bring in, and bring back clients. In a study conducted by SOTI, it was found that shoppers prefer: technology based experiences, faster checkouts, more coupons, they prefer to talk to a kiosk over a sales person, but not many expect personalized experiences. Mobile and physical stores can then work together to better assist shoppers needs and wants. As a growing number of retail sales are influenced by digital media, stores need to adapt their business models to match it. By providing their employees with technology, it can help to equip them with the tools they need to be successful with the increasingly mobile customers. One business uses technology to help them create a “smarter more personalized customer service, the moment the user walk in the door” (Grossman). This is where the opportunity of future retail lies, and the companies that are able to adapt will be the most successful. This article provides details about matching physical service to digital help online.
