Amazon is a fairly constant topic here at the Food Institute Blog, and within the past few weeks, the company gave us plenty to write about. From the expansion of Amazon Payments to new products linked to Dash Buttons to the expansion of same-day delivery, the company is showing that it isn’t planning to take a break on innovation.
The company plans to expand free same-day delivery to 11 more cities, with a focus on mid-sized cities including Cincinnati, Nashville, and Milwaukee. The company planned to expand the service in areas they already serve by introducing same-day delivery to more neighborhoods, including Los Angeles and the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Amazon also plans to expand its Prime Now service by selling major brands’ promotional deals connected to expansion.
PayPal and other online payment services should also take note: the classic disrupter is aiming for that market, as well. Amazon noted it would expand the partner program aspect of Amazon Payments, providing third-party retailers the ability to accept payments from customers through the service. The launch of the Amazon Payments Global Partner program is designed to help developers and other platform providers integrate with Amazon Payments, all so they can offer the “Pay with Amazon” option at checkout.
Last year on April Fool’s Day, Amazon unveiled the Dash Button program. By October, the company was gaining headway with the wifi-enabled reordering devices, and on Mar. 31, the company rolled out a number of additional products connected to the program. Brawny, Charmin, Clorox, Doritos, Energizer, Gain, Honest Kids, L’Oreal Paris Revitalift, Lysol, Peet’s Coffee, Playtex, Purina, Red Bull, Seventh Generation, Slim Jim, Snuggle, Starbucks, Trojan, Vitamin Water, and more signed up to offer their products through the innovative program.
As always, Amazon remains at the forefront of the retail evolution. The rapid expansion of their delivery services, the introduction and expansion of the Dash button and now the online payments factor all give the company a self-contained retail ecosystem. With this model, the company will likely attract and retain more and more customers. The question is, how will other retailers respond?