Which approach will be the most successful?
Amazon and Wal-Mart are the largest retailers in the world. The two companies have decided to compete with each other in an attempt to provide faster home delivery services to their consumers across the country. Amazon is currently building a distribution network across the United States while Wal-Mart is expanding its e-commerce strategy and supply system. It is agreeable that Wal-Mart’s approach will be the most successful.
Acording to Kucera (2013), the company has over 4,700 stores in the United States. Most of these stores are a few miles from the targeted consumers. The company’s new e-commerce strategy will make it easier to communicate and deliver its products to its customers. The customers will place their orders after which the company will deliver them in the shortest time possible. The company’s strategic presence across the country explains why it delivers various products and services to its targeted consumers much faster.
On the other hand, Amazon has been a leading e-commerce company. The disappointing fact is that Amazon has a limited number of stores. This makes it impossible to provide fast “home delivery” services. It is also agreeable that its attempt to create more stores deviates from its core business. This explains why it might take time for Amazon’s approach to succeed.
Will Amazon deliver its products on the same day across the nation?
Amazon usually takes one or two days to deliver different products to its customers. The company plans to improve its delivery services by increasing its stores across the country. The main challenge is that the company has only constructed a few of in the past four years. The company’s stores are located in the major urban areas.
This explains why it can only deliver its goods and services to those consumers living in urban areas. Its competitor, Wal-Mart, has very many stores across the country. The company can deliver many orders within a few hours to its customers. Amazon has always used its e-commerce strategy market and to deliver books, apparels, and electronics to its customers.
The process usually takes a few days thus making it hard for Amazon to compete with a leading retailer such as Wal-Mart. It is clear that Amazon might not be able deliver its products on the same day across the nation. Every company needs more “retail” stores in order to make delivery faster and cheaper (Kotler & Keller, 2012). Amazon has a long way to go before it can successfully deliver products and services to its customers across the country.
Will Amazon overtake Wal-Mart as the world’s largest retailer?
Wal-Mart is the leading global retailer. Wal-Mart is currently expanding its online presence and e-commerce capabilities. The company’s retail centers across the country make it easier for consumers to receive their orders on the same day (Miller & Clifford, 2013). At the same time, Amazon is desperately trying to compete with Wal-Mart as the leading global retailer.
The current situation shows clearly that Amazon will find it hard to compete with Wal-Mart, the world’s largest marketer and retailer. This is the case because Amazon has a small number of stores. Amazon has its major stores in the major urban centers thus making it impossible to deliver its products to all its customers on the same day. Wal-Mart’s strategy will be successful because it uses both its traditional retailing approach and modern online presence. This explains why it will always be ahead of its immediate competitors such as Amazon.
Reference List
Kotler, P. & Keller, K. (2012). Marketing Management. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
Kucera, D. (2013). Amazon Ramps up $13.9 Billion Warehouse Building Spree. Bloomberg Technology. Web.
Miller, C. & Clifford, S. (2013). To Catch Up, Wal-Mart Moves to Amazon Turf. New York Times. Web.