Many manufacturers and wholesale distributors have been profoundly impacted by the Amazon Effect, even if they don’t compete directly with Amazon. “The Amazon effect” refers to Amazon’s influence, dramatically raising customer expectations for things like:
- Frictionless commerce (epitomized by Amazon’s 1‐click checkout and Amazon Go)
- Extremely fast, low cost, or free delivery, with precise real‐time tracking and easy returns
- Nearly infinite selection; breadth and depth of products
- Rich product search, filtering, and product information
- Meaningful reviews and ratings
- Personalization
These expectations reach beyond the retail industry. In fact, the boundaries between retailers, manufacturers, and wholesale distributors have become ever more blurred.
