Is Amazon a monopoly?

We asked our consumer panel…

They said yes. 59% of in-store shoppers and 52% of app shoppers think Amazon has a monopoly. And, it makes sense. See, times have changed. Back in the good ol’ days, pre-COVID, you mainly shopped in-store. So, it was NBD that Amazon was the king of eCommerce. You didn’t need to competitive shop on apps.

Oh, how times have changed.

Now, 61% of people shop on eCommerce more than 30% of the time.¹ No need to be a math whiz to see an increase in these numbers. So, naturally, buyers want more options online. Like they enjoy when they shop in-person. Lucky for them, two players are quite happy to challenge Amazon: Walmart Plus & Target Shipt.

It’s a juicy opportunity.

At the start of 2020, there were more than 150 million paid Prime members worldwide, according to Jeff Bezos.² That’s a number Walmart Plus & Target Shipt would both love to steal. And there’s plenty of market share to take from. The eCommerce giant currently accounts for roughly 38% of all online retail sales in the United States.³ Amazon is clearly on top of its game.

You might say, they’re Primed for competition 😉

How Walmart+ is waging war.

Walmart has a win in mind. They’re want to kick Amazon off their horse. And here’s how they plan to do it:

1. Free delivery: Customers will receive as fast as same-day delivery on more than 160,000 items including tech, toys, household essentials, and groceries.²
2. Scan & Go: This feature in the Walmart app will allow for a faster way to shop in-store. Using the Walmart app, customers can scan their items as they shop and pay using Walmart Pay for a quick and touch-free payment experience.²
3. Fuel discounts: Walmart Plus members will be able to save up to 5 cents per gallon at nearly 2,000 Walmart, Murphy USA, and Murphy Express fuel stations. Sam’s Club fuel stations will also be added to the lineup.²
4. Same-day deliveries: Although Walmart requires orders to be over $35, it won’t charge for same-day deliveries like Amazon does.⁴

That’s quite the list.

But, is it enough?

Let’s take a look at Target Shipt. 

But, Walmart’s not the only retailer in town. As any mom will tell you, Target does a great job at vying for hard-earned cash. And this pandemic has given them a great chance to leverage their recent Shipt acquisition to challenge both Amazon and Walmart.

1. Same-day deliveries: Target Shipt offers same-day delivery of Target purchases, as quickly as within two hours of when you place an order.⁵
2. Personal shopping: A personal shopper deployed by Shipt does your shopping. They text you if something you ordered is out of stock. When they’re done, your stuff gets delivered right to your front door—within normal business hours.⁵
3. Low priced subscription: An annual subscription to Shipt is $99, or $8.25 a month, and includes unlimited orders of $35 or more from Target and participating stores in your area. 
4. No membership required: Target Shipt doesn’t require a membership, if you want to, you pay $9.99 per delivery.

As you can see, Target Shipt is taking a different path than Prime and Plus are. 

Most notably, it doesn’t require you to subscribe to a membership, making the app easier to try out. Then they create value with a personal shopper. The red and white retailer is certainly doing their part to differentiate.

So, what does it all mean for you?

Well, if you sell in these categories, eCommerce retail wars have a direct impact on business.

There are now multiple chances to advertise and gain market share with the momentum that has been created by these retailers. If you’re a retailer yourself, it’s helpful to know what the competition is doing, so you can come prepared to the game.

And, if you’re in market research, you need to know how this impacts clients. No matter the industry, you’re well served to study the actions of these three giants. 

Here’s how you can do it.

Market research. Use it to find out exactly what consumers want— and then deliver.

And guess what? Research evolved too. In fact, you can now get eCommerce data on consumers that you could never access before. Here’s how it works. Let’s say you want to know what apps a consumer panel has on their smartphone. 

Simple. Ask the nation’s largest, highest-rated consumer panel. Surveys On The Go® can see other apps. You can look at shopping behavior, in-app purchases, and a whole lot more. So, once you know what you want to study, start your free trial, or call to get help with a QRE. 

But, maybe you need in-store data.

Cool. Surveys On The Go® can see where panelists have been—and where they’re going.  Here’s how it works. Let’s say you want to talk to people who’ve shopped at Walmart or Target in the last 24 hours. Reach them while they’re still shopping to get rich insights with a Point of Emotion® survey. 

Need help? Email us. We help the world’s biggest brands get better, faster, more accurate data.

References:

1. https://mfour.com/blog/amazon-prime-vs-walmart-plus-who-will-win/ 
2. https://www.tomsguide.com/news/walmart-plus-membership-free-delivery#:~:text=Walmart%20Plus%20is%20a%20new,year%20or%20%2412.95%20a%20month. 
3. https://www.emarketer.com/content/top-10-us-ecommerce-companies-2020 
4. https://www.techradar.com/news/walmart-plus-launch-date
5. https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/blog/target-shipt-review/