📈 Amazon eyes the B2B prize.
This week we saw a big hullabaloo on LinkedIn and in the media about the closure of Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go stores.
At face value, it looks like a B2C fail.
But what if it’s a brilliant, strategic B2B win?
It’s a good time to take a step back and look at the big picture of Amazon’s different audiences and offerings.
🎯 WHAT’S AMAZON’S OBJECTIVE?
More specifically, who else is Amazon’s customer?
Perhaps these Fresh and Go stores (which would have gone in the bottom-left quadrant) deepen Amazon’s visionary tech leadership by acting as labs in which to test proprietary services (top-right) to pull retailers and brands into the future.
🛍️ Amazon Go stores tested Just Walk Out, which is now used in 360 stores around the world
🛒 Amazon Fresh stores tested Amazon Dash Carts, which retailers like Price Chopper use
📣 Operating convenience and grocery stores helped Amazon build collaborative relationships with CPG brands — whose massive advertising budgets are a desirable fit for Amazon Ads.
Yes, Amazon is a retailer who sells to you and me. Given its B2B tech prowess and ambition, I also view it as the R&D department for Western retail.
💥 B2B BOOM TIME
Amazon dreams big. It’s modernizing global retail’s infrastructure. Why would it limit growth to lower-margin B2C audiences?
Imagine what AI-driven magic Amazon is cooking up to help other retailers and brands grow.
“We believe that we’ve only scratched the surface of what’s possible to date, and plan to keep building the features our business customers tell us they need and want.”
~ Andy Jassy, Amazon CEO, in a 2023 letter to shareholders
Do you view Amazon’s store closures as a fail, a win or a mix, given the bigger picture?
Want more? Follow me on LinkedIn for retail trends and strategy.
Related – Amazon:
Jeff Bezos’ Retail Legacy
Look How Far Amazon Has Come
2024 Amazon SWOT Analysis
Amazon’s 2021 Strategy Diamond
Amazon’s Pandemic Partnerships
Amazon Gets Intimate
Related – Retail Ecosystem Strategy
2026 Retail PEST Analysis
Retail & Tech Giants Align 2025
Retail in 2025: Porter’s 5 Forces Check-In
Retail’s B2B Growth Drivers