My amazon stories:
Bought parts for my antique tractor.
It “learned” what cars I own. I have purchased spark plugs, brakes, full headlight and tail light housings, body parts, replacement bulbs, brake fluid, engine parts. It even warns me when a part doesn’t fit my vehicle.
And we bought lighting for my daugher’s wedding in a different state. It was shipped to her place.
I bought permathrin for bug control. TONS of stuff for my bands, clothing, shoes, etc.
And with prime, you don’t “build up” your order to avoid shipping. You need an oil filter for your car? Log in and buy it. It shows up at my home in rural KY in a few days, free shipping. We even do all of our window shopping there.
And here is the real rub: Since moving from Seattle to the middle of nowhere, and being a costco member since 1988, we were using Costco online a lot. However, Amazon Prime has made a serious dent in that business as well. We’ve found that we can find virtually anything there. Even weird obscure stuff.
And to make it worse, it is not just those of us in the sticks that benefit. My daughter in Seattle bought a game controller so she and her sister could play video games that night. It showed up in an hour.
i.e. it is also great for people in urban areas where traffic or the lack of a car is a serious problem regarding shopping.
And what about all the peripheral businesses in and around shopping malls. How about all those restaurants and the food courts?
So what retalers, exactly don’t get hurt by it? Well, I think those old fashioned small town cores in the country, or the ones embedded here and there in cities (Freemont and capital hill in the Seattle area would be an example) could actually thrive. They can become THE place people go (besides disneyland) to get out of the house and around people. And most of them are close enough to people’s homes to walk.
And that last line suggests an impact to the sale of gas and diesel. But i’m done going down rabbit holes with this.
It does mean that governments are gonna have to really increase taxes on INCOME of those that do have an income, though, just to survive.
>> governments are gonna have to really increase taxes on INCOME of those that do have an income, though, just to survive. <<
That hurts children.
Why are folks so eager to hurt children?
Amazon is like the Sears & Roebuck catalog of antiquity except that you don’t get free outhouse paper.
RE: Amazon
I prefer to support local retailers. However, I live on an island in Alaska with about 3000 souls. Amazon Prime is a blessing if not an actual necessity.
BTW, Amazon stock (AMZN) is just a hair under $1000 a share today.