Image via Wikipedia

Some major brick and mortar retailers are worrying how Amazon could best them at their own games by rolling out Price Check app that help customers use their stores as showrooms.  Amazon could always allow customers to see better deals on Amazon through Price Check app.  Furthermore, Amazon could possibly allow customers to purchase products directly on Price Check app, but I don’t know if this is truly possible since I haven’t yet tested the app.  I just say Amazon could do it if they want to.  If they have done so, then that’s exactly my point.  I think this could potentially cripple retailer stores.

Image via Wikipedia

I think Amazon is creating a new trend where more online stores will copy Amazon promotional approach.  We may never know, but if this specific approach becomes so effective, major brick and mortar retailer stores could lose big time.  Perhaps, in the near future, only true online retailer stores (i.e., as big as Amazon or even bigger) could afford to open brick and mortar stores so customers could experience the wall garden experience.

My use of the phrase wall garden is to compare what I mentioned to how Steve Jobs executed his business philosophy.  That is, Steve Jobs preferred in having Apple owned the hardware and software platforms through and through, and he went even further by skipping the third party retailer distributors and built the many brick and mortar Apple stores.  I think the successful existence of brick and mortar Apple stores might be an excellence model for online stores to create the wall garden experience Steve Jobs adamantly worshipped.

I think sooner or later, some smart online stores might program their apps to allow the lowering of product prices on the fly so customers will save money more and the online stores will make more money at a faster rate.  Of course, the algorithms for such apps need to be super smart, otherwise online stores could sell products way below the profitable point and end up lose more money than they would want.  Brick and mortar retailer stores might see this as constant price wars.  Obviously, I don’t think brick and mortar retailer stores can beat this kind of tactics, because such physical stores need to have ways to monitor product prices of online competitors and then change prices in the moments.

I can also see mom and pop stores that serve local communities lose out to online stores if people love to frequently use mobile apps to compare products at physical stores against online stores.  Such phenomenon will drive mom and pop stores out of business.  Perhaps, the future can only embrace brick and mortar stores that truly have big online presences.

Related articles

• Amazon will give you $5 if you use its Price Check app this weekend (engadget.com)
• This Holiday, Amazon Wants You to Brazenly Stick it to Bricks and Mortar Retailers (readwriteweb.com)
• Amazon offers discounts to users of its price check app, this Saturday only (digitaltrends.com)
• Amazon Offers Deal for Physical-Store Shopper (blogs.wsj.com)
• Price Check! Amazon App Takes Aim at Brick-and-Mortars (businessweek.com)
• Amazon Will Pay You Up to $15 to Shop With Its Price Check App (mashable.com)
• Amazon app will pay you $15 bucks to walk out on retailers (csmonitor.com)
• Amazon Jabs At Brick-And-Mortar Retailers With Price Check Promotion (techcrunch.com)
• Amazon Takes On Competitors With $5 Discount For Price Check App (businessinsider.com)
• Consumers relying on mobile shopping to save money (survey) (zdnet.com)
• Online Retailers Stealing Store Customers (247wallst.com)
• Rage over Amazon move is misplaced (tech.fortune.cnn.com)
• Amazon Will Pay Shoppers $5 to Walk Out of Stores Empty-Handed (allthingsd.com)
• Free Amazon Price Check App (Instantly Compare In-Store & Online Amazon Prices) (hip2save.com)
• Amazon’s Latest Dick Move (slog.thestranger.com)