Looks like WalMart online
E-TAIL GIANT Amazon.com quietly entered the groceries retail market in the U.S. last week.
The erstwhile bookstore sells so many things these days - from lawn mowers to
Home Defibrillators - it looks like an on-line WalMart.
We visited the section, and found that indeed, you can now not only buy the
book titled
Supermarket Wars, you can also play a role in such a war, by buying groceries in the same virtual shopping cart.
"American Pirates'" Booty? Surely some mistake...
In our first visit, the "Canned Meats" section was kind of
empty (what, no Spam?), while the section including salmon, tuna, and sardines was
chockful.
A spokesperson for the corporation, Tracy Ogden, told the
Washington Post, "this will be a major appeal to our customers. Many people work, and most moms who stay at home have their hands full. The last thing they want to do is go to the store", adding that more than 10,000 "non-perishable items" are being offered.
Amazon.com page, suddenly looking fishy.
The bad news for readers in Blighty is that the Amazon.co.uk site is not yet offering a similar deal, perhaps because retailers like Tesco have been offering groceries
e-shopping for years, as this CNN article dated six years ago can attest.
Readers in Blighty will be horrified to learn that they sell that
undrinkable "iced" tea across the pond. Of course you can buy
it on the new Amazon Grocery section, along with
coconut water (in packs of twelve). On the food side, you currently have over 270 types of
pasta, canned seafood, and snacks with funny names like
this "Pirate's Booty" or
Pirate's Cannon Balls. This scribbler is not familiar with american snacks, but I'm already wondering what good organizations that defend the honesty of mankind like the MPAA or the RIAA will say on this mindless glorification of piracy.
Health conscious people and those of the vegetarian cult will probably want to look at the
"Natural and Organic" section of Amazon.com Grocery. Not surprisingly, it's not food but
diapers the items that comprise the bulk of the "Top Sellers" list at the Grocery section. Whereas Tuna in Olive Oil and "Loma Linda tender bits" are currently at the top of the "Canned and Packaged food"
top-sellers list at the time of this writing. If you're hungry already, blame Amazon.com.
Let's see, a movie on DVD, a microdrive for the digicam... and a pack of 12 tuna cans.
In the U.S., Amazon.com will have
Peapod as its main, established rival, which is available in several large cities. However, by sticking to canned and 'non-perishable' foods, Amazon.com will be able to reach its entire US customer base.
Even if late -by a number of years-, Amazon.com's move will surely be a hit among computer geeks, too busy in front of their screens to leave home for the nearest grocery store and happy to add some canned food and beverages to their latest hardware, software, book or DVD purchases. We still advise you to take a walk and see the mythical 'Outside World' every once a while.
The INQuirer
Linear Mode
