That brand loyalty argument had me thinking that there
are some odd things I am amazingly loyal to. Kraft Macaroni
and Cheese for instance. I've been fed it for near 40 years,
I pay a premium for the product and I've returned to it
repeatedly.
That said, I really don't care whether I buy it at Safeway,
Costco, Fred Meyer, QFC, or whatever.
Similarly, I will buy any book written by Mark Helprin, (if I
haven't bought it yet), but I really don't care where I buy
it. As far as retail goes, no brand loyalty. It just doesn't
exist. And as consumers become more sophisticated,
their inclination to use a few keystrokes to get a better
deal will increase.
As far as AMZN selling advertising space, the idea is
quite ludicrous. Retail establishments can sometimes
get a little kick-back from giving good shelf-space or
poster space to a supplier, but it is not a big deal.
People aren't going to visit the AMZN web site in order
to be assaulted by unwanted advertisements, because
there is no draw like a television sitcom, or newspaper
articles, or what have you, to keep them sitting through
it. Of course there is probably some company out there
willing to pay for such, but not for the long haul.
-- Carl |
