Amazon the poacher is rumoured to be turning gamekeeper.

Amazon are heavily rumoured to be opening their first store in NYC just before Christmas. (see: Good e Reader news youtube clip)
So is this really the arch-poacher turning gamer-keeper....naaahhh....this is a business that simply wants to be the most customer centric business on the planet. And having almost single-handily invented the successful on-line business model they now understand, better than most, its major weaknesses.
There's a whole bunch of people who like to touch their purchases before they commit and its not always convenient to have things delivered....hence the burgeoning success of click 'n collect.
So this is not fire fighting a nascent business model flaw, its simply Amazon listening to its customers.
This is a business that knows if it ain't broke, break it...it understands success is all about tinkering with the customer experience to make sure you're relentlessly relevant. I love it.
After years of keeping the world's sloppy customer service companies awake a night, there are some who say Amazon are loosing their beauty sleep by the relative upstart:Alibaba ...maybe another reason for Amazon to break as many lores as possible - not least by moving into retail real estate.

I also think the time maybe upon us where we have to factor in the environmental cost of on-line shopping with one-to-one deliveries...but this is a complicated equation and I'll just leave it hanging for the time being!

  

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