Il Coronavirus putting everyone in lockdown, it blocked, some more some less, economies of almost all countries of the world. Only one traveled even faster than before: that of Amazon. Only maybe he has traveled too much.
Colossus under pressure
In fact, since the start of the coronavirus epidemic, the e-commerce giant has been under severe pressure. With the shops closed, everyone threw themselves on the platform ordering the impossible.
And this has resulted to such an unexpected increase in sales to find the company unprepared to manage such a massive number of orders. Obviously accompanied from the need to guarantee safety conditions for its employees, who are forced to work much heavier.
Only necessary goods
The reaction of the giant, however, did not make us wait too long. A few weeks ago the announcement that it would only accept orders for basic necessities. So food, hygiene and health products, children's books, baby products and to help people work from home. (do not worry, it will resume doing it this week).
Leaving very surprised since with the sale all the other products would have increased profits exponentially, being the only one who can do it practically exclusively.
Anti business strategy?
In short, Amazon would have chosen an anti-market strategy. But to imagine that the giant does something that goes against its business model, leaves us at least perplexed.
The boom is not sustainable
An idea of truth on which to reflect is provided by the Wall Street Journal when he explains that the e-commerce boom caused by the pandemic is not sustainable for nobody, not even for the pioneer of e-commerce. This is why, despite hundreds of thousands of hires around the world, just to try to keep up with the peaks, Amazon is working "against itself" to make us buy less.
Modified interface
According to the authoritative newspaper, in fact, Amazon is organizing a series of targeted actions, not yet officially announced, but already adopted especially in the United States, which could also be extended to other countries, including Italy.
Starting with the change of its interface, so as to discourage people from buying more than they need and add other products to the cart. And then deleting the section "users who bought this product also bought" (it is no longer even in Italy).
Via Prime Day and advertising
In the United States, then, also canceled: Prime Day, the day of discounts and promotions that since 2015 organizes every year in July, promotional campaigns for Mother's and Father's Day, which should have enticed people to give something to their parents and reduced the amount of advertisements that appear with Google searches.
And yet: no more guarantees on one-day shipping in Europe, thanks to Amazon Prime, but not even in the United States where delivery in a few hours will take months.
Finally, it would reduce the percentages of corporate sales revenue by 50 percent who have shared a link to a product on their site.
Prepare properly
Although they seem to be choices contrary to the logic of the market, given that they try to contain purchases, they are only apparently so: in fact, Amazon has just took time to regroup. In mid-March, Amazon it had hired 100 new employees in the United States e in mid-April he said he would hire another 75, to work in warehouses and deliveries. It is not yet clear whether similar investments are also planned in Italy.
Security first of all
In addition, it is putting in place a fundamental set of safety measures for its employees; between these, the detection of the temperature for all those who have to work, frequent sanitation of warehouses, the distribution of masks and the construction of a laboratory to carry out coronavirus tests on its employees.
Meanwhile, a team of senior management has been hired with the task of understanding how and when the company can return to normal, both in the offer of products and in the delivery times. Among the first answers it is pointed out that it will take even more than two months, but that probably many of the changes going on in these weeks of emergency will not be permanent.
Article Amazon makes us buy less: more sustainable selling or simple reorganization? seems to be the first of iO Woman.
