Not long after its launch this summer in the United Kingdom, Amazon Grocery had the UK buzzing with feedback on shopper's experiences. And while Amazon seems to have improved upon its grocery-store platform since it's original launch here in the U.S. in 2006, we are seeing similar frustrations from first-time UK users that that those in the U.S. experienced a few years back.
I found an interesting piece by UK blogger Tessa Cunningham, detailing her experience with the new service. Initially, Tessa figured that if Amazon Grocery offered everything she typically bought and more online, it would make life that much easier, allowing her to skip her weekly trip to the local store. What she found surprised her and her readers. She expected lots of choices, cheap prices and efficient delivery service. Not far off from a typical experience on Amazon.com. However, what she got instead was too many choices, none of her regular brands, extraordinarily high shipping costs, and 15 separate deliveries!
It's clear that there are still a few kinks that need to be worked out in order for Amazon to be successful. This begs a bigger question, can an e-retail giant like Amazon whose platform is built on a long-tail strategy, of selling small volumes of harder-to-find items to many customers, satisfy the average online grocery shoppers every-day needs? Or will shoppers opt for an experience more tailored to traditional grocery shopping from offered by retailers, like the UK's Tesco, who offers fewer items but can deliver larger orders more efficiently?
-Contributed by Erica Trout
