Amazon’s Grocery Pop-Ups Keep Coming, But Should They? | Fast Five Shorts

Amazon is running a limited time digital storefront to help customers stock up for Labor Day, the latest in a growing string of its smaller occasion based online sales events.

According to Chainstoreage, Amazon ran a limited time online storefront offering discounts on select food items via a dedicated Labor Day grocery store timed to the federal holiday on Monday, September.

Not Sebastian.

Deal categories included cookout essentials starting at $2, think things like hot dogs and hamburger buns, summer produce under $4 and of course grilling proteins, all under $10.

Every eligible item was backed by Amazon's freshness guarantee and prime members can get free same day delivery on eligible orders.

This continues a pattern of smaller Amazon sales activations beyond its marquee events.

Think prime day, big deal days, Black Friday week, including my personal favorite Shelley Pet days in May.

So my question for you is Amazon keeps adding these smaller occasion based groups grocery storefronts to its calendar.

Do you think these are smart, low cost, incremental share building moves in grocery or is it a gimmick that ultimately will not move the needle?

Well, I think that this is ultimately defensive on Amazon's part.

I think when they probably, I think it's defensive, I'll share why?

Okay, if they probably look at their market share, my hypothesis is if they look at their market share every week of the year, that they probably lose share during key holiday events like Labor Day.

And that's because Walmart, Target, Kroger do it so well.

When you walk into those stores, you see everything stacked out in bulk.

Chips, meat, beverages, all of these things.

They actually remind you of everything.

You need to have a Labor Day gathering when you walk into these stores.

And so I actually think during that time Amazon probably sees a dip in market share.

This is defensive for them to try to get some of that back or not lose as much.

And retail more than ever, grocery retail is becoming a share fight again.

So you see Greg Ferrand is at the helm of Kroger just since he started.

You see how many price drops I was in a fry's three or four days ago.

And you see how many price drops already are in the market putting a ton of pricing pressure on Walmart and Target and others.

And then you've got Amazon who doesn't have as much share in grocery, and they're trying to fight for share during these key timeframes.

And so I ultimately think it's defensive for them.

Wow, okay.

I didn't, I didn't even think about that angle.

So defensive.

Okay, let me ask you this.

Can something be Defensive and offensive at the same time.

Not offensive, but offensive at the same time.

I think that they would hope that's the case, that they would really have somebody new shopping them who hasn't before.

That's.

That enjoys the experience and may come back to them again.

But ultimately, I think that they have a lot of work to do to build the awareness and the confidence that customers have to think of them for those key events.

So I think they'll learn a lot and maybe they'll try something like this again.

But I think that that's probably their.

Their hope.

Chris.

Yeah, right.

Right.

Yeah.

No, this is really.

Oh, God.

This is a really interesting conversation to start the show.

I agree with you 100%.

I don't think I can disagree with anything you said.

I also think it is a little bit of an offensive move.

So it's defensive and offensive.

Like, as I was answering the question myself, I think it's a floor wax and a dessert topic, if you remember that old 70s Saturday Live sketch, you know, with Dan aykroyd.

Because it's 100% a silly gimmick.

Let's just call it what it is too.

But, but the other part about it that makes it offensive in addition to defensive in the short run, in the long run, Amazon is playing the long game here.

We've talked on the show a lot, probably even with you, Shelley, at times like death by a thousand cuts.

That's the strategy Amazon's taking here.

And every time they can bait the hook, you even said it yourself, and they get somebody to bite, they end up triggering a grocery purchase and grocery recall around seasonal events, which are absolutely essential in grocery because of what you're basically alluding to is the basket size around these events.

People go into the store and they get a lot of stuff.

And so Amazon, if it keeps doing this, is going to slowly chip away at that and make it harder and harder for the average grocer to compete in the long run.

So.

And I think, you know, that's a good trick when you're talking about converting people to become more loyal to Amazon for grocery shopping.

Of course, with that said, the part we didn't.

Neither one of us talked about too, Shelly.

So I'm curious to get your last.

Your thoughts here and give you the last word is Amazon's got to make good on the delivery too.

Like the product quality and the freshness has got to be there.

Absolutely.

And I think Amazon's gotten a lot better at that.

And I think consumers, you know, tend to expect that from them at this point.

So, yeah, if they can deliver on the promise, I think that they not only can maintain their market share, but chip away at some others.

But I think it's going to be an interesting next 12 to 18 months in grocery in general to see where market share goes.

Yeah, survival of the fittest, no doubt.