Amazon Australia is expected to start taking orders from Tuesday next week, putting to an end rumours
about its launching date in the 12th best economy on the planet and
possibly ending hopes of Christmas holidays boost for brick-and-mortar rivals who
are already struggling.
The international retailer promised to offer free shipping services across Australia for orders of over $37.26 (equivalent to A$49), with a broad array of products available from different niches including electronics, clothing, sporting tools and equipment and so much more.
The initiative is expected to cost $550 billion and bring hope to the nation’s dying retail industry, at a time when local shop owners were hoping for an increase in sales during this holiday season.
Rocco Braeuniger, Australia’s Amazon’s country manager, said in a statement that the United States company would “earn the trust” of the nation’s consumers and, with time, help in creating “thousands of jobs for the locals”.
For many years now, Australia has had a vast majority of registered Amazon users, but until next week on Tuesday, it was not possible for them to ship goods offshore since the Seattle Corporation didn’t own a warehouse in the 12th best economy on the world. Also, Australians were forced to pay huge fees and wait longer for their goods to arrive.
Today, Amazon has built a bit distribution warehouse around the boarders of the city of Melbourne, on Australia’s east coast where the majority (four-fifths) of the country’s population live, and Amazon is hoping to reduce delivery time to 24-hour maximum.
Regarding the free delivery promise, the company reported that it expects the delivery time to be shortened to utmost 3-business days in cities where almost half of the nation’s population live and they include Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Canberra, and Adelaide. Delivery to remote regions is expected to take no more than 10 days. However, you can pay some fee for faster shipping.
The company didn’t say anything regarding the last-minute problems faced during the November 23 trial. Instead, Amazon said that they plan to offer rapid shipping subscriptions in mid-2018, meaning that they are ready to face the geographic challenges posed by a sparingly populated nation like Australia.
The country’s retail shares have faced many challenges from the time Amazon.com confirmed its launch in April. For example, shares of leading department store operator like Myer Holdings Ltd have dropped by 30% since April.
Myer Holdings has been closing some of their stores and clearing their stocks online, and in November this year, it reduced to half its three years target for sales growth per square meter. Their online sales reduced by 68% in the 13-weeks to October 28.
The shares of the number one electronics retailer shop, Harvey Norman Holdings have reduced by 7% since April, and JB HiFi shares are down by 6%.
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