One of the biggest perks that consumers enjoyed about
shopping with Amazon was the convenience and the lack of sales tax on their
purchases. But many states now have required Amazon to impose a sales tax
because of constant pressure from local businesses.
After much resistance to collect sales tax from its
customers, Amazon has decided to stop and instead embrace the new tax laws that
force the online retailer to collect taxes. Instead of fighting this sales tax
war, Amazon has decided to begin opening more distribution centers throughout
the country in order to ship its products in a timelier manner. One big change
coming from this is the potential for same day delivery and the ability to have
your purchases delivered to hours right after you buy it.
The potential of same day delivery can ultimately lead to an
even bigger consumer base for the online retailer. It plans to invest billions
of dollars to make this the standard. How more convenient would it be to shop
from home and have it delivered to you in the same day? Physical retailers
would begin to face new challenges now in combating the online retailer.
By being forced to charge a sales tax, Amazon has responded
with a great new way to increase its consumer base even with the new law change.
This could lead to a decline in business for physical retailers with consumers
opting for the more convenient shopping method. This move by Amazon will also
increase the number of jobs available wherever they open a new warehouse,
something that can really benefit surrounding areas and families.
I think that Amazon making same day shipping the standard would be amazing! It's definitely going to set the bar high for everyone else. However, I understand Amazon is going to invest billions and that it will increase jobs, but how much are we going to have to pay as consumers. Even our current "standard shipping" can be pretty steep and that's to receive it in 3-5 business days. Sometimes, I just pass on the product entirely because I don't think it's worth it. So, I can't imagine that "same day standard shipping" would be any better as far as consumer costs will go.
ReplyDeleteI think that regardless of shipping costs people value the convenience of this so much to not take advantage of it. I see this as being a great boost for Amazon and as a frequent Amazon customer I'm really excited for this new feature. Another thing is that they already offer similar products to brick and mortar stores but at a cheaper price so maybe the costs won't be too much.
DeleteAmazon did take advantage of having to charge sales tax by offering consumers something better in return. This was a great move on Amazons part, it is better than them fighting the sales tax laws it really shows consumers that they want to keep their word.
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