RE: Something Interesting | Jason Del Rey on the Future of Black Friday and Holiday Sales, In-Person vs. Online Commerce, and How Amazon & Walmart Are Redefining How We Shop
Dec 2, 2023
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Jason Del Rey, author of Winner Sells All: Amazon, Walmart, and the Battle for Our Wallets, discusses the transformation of Black Friday to online commerce, the rivalry between Amazon and Walmart, the challenges they faced, the cultural significance of both companies, the lack of a transformative X factor in online e-commerce, the impact of the pandemic on e-commerce, and the political ambitions within the industry.
Black Friday and Cyber Monday have evolved into omni-channel experiences, combining online and physical shopping options.
E-commerce startups fueled by easy access to cheap debt often struggled to build sustainable and profitable businesses.
Deep dives
Black Friday and Cyber Monday have become omni-channel experiences
Black Friday and Cyber Monday have evolved from traditional in-person shopping events to omni-channel experiences, where companies prioritize offering customers multiple ways to buy and receive their purchases, such as in-store pickup, delivery, or curbside pickup. Sales are now spread out over a longer period, with Cyber Monday sales lasting well beyond the actual day.
The term 'e-commerce' may be becoming outdated
The distinction between 'e-commerce' and 'commerce' may no longer be relevant, as online and physical shopping experiences continue to merge. Companies like Amazon and Walmart are recognizing the importance of providing a seamless shopping experience that combines both online and in-store options. The term 'e-commerce' might eventually become obsolete as the distinction between online and physical retail becomes less pronounced.
The challenges of the zero interest rate phenomenon for e-commerce
The zero interest rate phenomenon, along with VC funding, played a significant role in fueling the growth of e-commerce startups. However, many of these startups, fueled by easy access to cheap debt, struggled to build sustainable and profitable businesses. Retail companies, unlike software companies, cannot sustain continuous high-growth rates. As a result, these startups faced challenges when it came to meeting VC expectations and often failed to establish sound business models.
The impact of legacy incumbents and the struggles of startup acquisitions
Legacy incumbents, such as Walmart, faced challenges when it came to embracing e-commerce due to concerns of cannibalizing their in-store sales. On the other hand, startup acquisitions by bigger companies, like Walmart acquiring Bonobos, did not always result in long-term success. Many acquired startups struggled to meet the high expectations set by their VC funding and could not sustain their growth rates. Large retailers realized that the growth rates of retail companies were not comparable to those of software companies, ultimately leading to disappointment post-acquisition.
Welcome to RE: Something Interesting, The Realignment's new Saturday podcast focused on more casual conversations about American culture and society with people who've released something worth diving into. Today's guest is the journalist Jason Del Rey, author of Winner Sells All: Amazon, Walmart, and the Battle for Our Wallets. Marshall and Jason discuss a listener's question about the state of Black Friday given the decline of in-person shopping, how the rivalry between Amazon and Walmart redefined the shopping experience, why both struggled with their in-person and online experiences, and why many of their efforts and startups they acquired during the 2010s floundered.
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