Why Amazon 4-Star Stores Failed
One of the clearest trends unfolding in tech has been the gradual shift from brick and mortar to e-commerce. However, there is one question associated with the shift that Amazon appears to be struggling to answer. What happens to brick and mortar in an e-commerce world? Some of the world’s largest retailers (Target, Walmart, and Costco) consider their web of physical stores to be an asset when competing with Amazon. Given its own flirtation with brick and mortar, Amazon appears to agree with such an assessment.
This is why news from last week that Amazon pulled the plug on dozens of its 4-star stores along with its traditional bookstores caught my attention. The move was announced as part of a broader shift that will see Amazon concentrate its brick and mortar bets on grocery and clothing. In assessing the chances of success for such a shift, we need to see what went wrong with Amazon’s 4-star stores.
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