IN MY VIEW

THE power of three is behind the rise and rise of Amazon, according to leading retail expert Professor Leigh Sparks.

“People think of Amazon as the new kid on the block, but they’ve been around long enough to build a business and they’ve done that very successfully,” said Professor Sparks from the Institute of Retail Studies at Stirling University.

“It’s all about brand, fulfilment and technology.

“The brand is the very clever bit, making themselves THE place you’ll look at first. In most cases the fulfilment has then worked to deliver what you want.

“And they’ve always ensured they have the technology to make it all work.

“Plus they’re always looking at how to do that better, with the Hubs, the At-Home systems and Amazon Fire. That’s what drives Amazon.

“But 85% of all sales still go through physical stores. Amazon want a chunk of that and they’re beginning to realise that such stores have a role in their fulfilment.”

The trial of their hightech store in the US is likely to spread to the UK, says Professor Sparks.

But he’s not so sure the much-hyped move into grocery will have such a smooth transition over here.

“There are a lot of proposed tie-ups like Tesco and Booker and this week’s Morrisons/ Safeway/McColls thing.

“That’s all about trying to get a piece of the local action and Amazon are trying to think about how they can do grocery and local. But is difficult.”

Despite the seemingly endless list of pies Amazon have their fingers in, Professor Sparks believes there’s no danger yet of us becoming tired of them.

“I think we’d only get fed up with them if they became so big and were in so much of our lives.

“If there was an Amazon store on every street corner that may be a danger, but they’re a million miles away from that.”