DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: Will wait-listing new customers and converting Whole Foods locations to online fulfillment centers allow Amazon to get on top of its e-grocery demands? What do you think the online grocery shopping landscape will look like when the dust settles?
Interactive Edge’s CEO, Zel Bianco comments, featured on RetailWire’s Braintrust :
The Bryant Park store makes the most sense as it is located right on 6th Avenue alongside mostly offices. That does not mean it should close to fill online orders. There are dense residential areas in less than two avenues over to the east, and three blocks to the west it is mostly residential or mixed. The Bryant Park store could and should continue to be used for regular shopping. So why hasn’t Amazon built out or converted one or more of the available large retail storefronts that are sitting idle? Why not keep the stores open for both in-person shopping as well as pick-up? Heck, if they wanted to – they could partner with restaurant groups to prepare meals.
This is the time to be creative. Yes the logistics may sometimes be challenging but if we can build a hospital at the Javits Center, I think Amazon can figure out how to fill online orders from a space other than their stores. If those that would normally shop at Bryant Park end up at the store where I shop in Columbus Circle, it will not solve the problem.
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