We often think of Amazon as one of those invincible brands. A bulletproof business. A business that has transformed the retail sector thanks to a relentless dissatisfaction with the status quo.

But like a lot of tech companies they thrived during the pandemic and now they're finding life difficult.

Why?

1) General volatility. Like all retailers, Amazon is grappling with unprecedented cost inflation at a time when consumer demand remains sluggish. That's a dangerous combo for any business but in Amazon's case it's exacerbated by the fact that during the pandemic they over-hired and over-expanded to help cope with the huge surge in demand for online shopping and cloud computing.

2) Recalibration: return to IRL shopping. We've now had a year of relative normality. The world is far more hybrid than we could have ever imagined pre-2020 but the pandemic has taught us the value of stores in this digital era. Shoppers are abandoning e-commerce and returning to bricks & mortar. They're looking for value over convenience and delaying those discretionary buys. The pandemic has reaffirmed that the future of retail is NOT e-commerce – it's a blended mix of physical and digital commerce.

As a result, Amazon is looking unusually vulnerable. I believe that sometime within the next decade, Amazon will go from being the disruptor to the disrupted. Listen to the podcast to hear why.

For more, visit www.nbkretail.com

Why Amazon Will Go From Disruptor To Disrupted

Retail Disrupted