Amazon’s first bricks-and-mortar location is aimed
squarely at fostering customer loyalty with the millennial generation,
according to a report in ZDNet. Amazon@Purdue at Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, provides the
online retail giant with a way to conveniently reach the 18-34 demographic.
“The millennial generation of customers, which includes
those in college right now, is going to be the most important generation of
consumers our country has ever known,” said retail consultant Micah Solomon.
“There are more of them than the baby boomers and they will soon control a
dominant share of the purchasing power as well.”
The Purdue location is really more of a post office, with pickup lockers and a staffed counter where students can claim their orders.
It’s also an expansion of the Amazon Student initiative that provides students
with discounts and perks on textbooks and college essentials for a subscription
fee.
While Amazon@Purdue allows the e-tailer a way to give
bricks-and-mortar locations a try, some wonder how pickup locations will work
off campus. After all, one of the reasons Amazon became an online retail
powerhouse is because it has avoided the costs associated with physical
locations.
“Amazon is the acknowledged king of online commerce,
but there are many things about physical commerce that cannot be replicated
online,” Solomon said.
