Even though Amazon is proving itself to be the biggest kid on the block when it comes to online retailers, CEO Jeff Bezos seems to think that won’t scare consumers. Amazon deals are just too good for customers to stay away, according to Bloomberg.
Paul Shi, a longtime Amazon Prime member, told Bloomberg he will keep going to Amazon if it means getting the best product for the best price.
“Do I think they can be less confrontational and work toward a better resolution? Sure, but at the end of the day, they’re out to protect their bottom line, and it’s just a negotiating tactic,” Shi told Bloomberg. “I’m the consumer, and my job is to get the lowest price possible, even if it happens to be on Amazon.”
It’s customers like Shi who will keep Amazon in business. The simple fact of the matter is, customers don’t care that Amazon is bullying third-party merchants and using its monopoly power to get what it wants, because Amazon is still delivering good products, low prices and fast shipping at superhuman speed. As Forbes described him, Bezos is “increasingly belligerent in the pursuit of profit.” (RELATED: Amazon Fights With Disney, Blocks Movie Preorders)
In fact, even when third-party merchants push back — like the authors who penned The New York Times ad slamming Amazon for abusing the publishing company Hachette — consumers won’t want to jump ship in the name of “market fairness.” They’ll keep going back to their Prime deals and Prime shipping like addicts. For example, Bloomberg cites data showing Amazon’s third-party merchant sales were up 40 percent in July. (RELATED: Get Ready For Amazon To Be SLAMMED In A New York Times Ad)
“At the end of the day, this is a company that has $100 billion in revenue,” Needham & Co Kerry Rice told Bloomberg. “It might suffer some, but I think overall the effect will be negligible.”
Both Amazon’s and Disney’s stock continue to rise this week, and neither seem affected by their current pricing dispute.