Amazon Local Levee Bank

What has Woolworths and Coles looking over their shoulder concerned that their market dominance could be seriously threatened? Amazon.com; the once online book store that started in a garage, now the largest online retailer in the world has a bricks and mortar presence in Australia and is expected to expand with mega distribution(fulfilment) centres. Retail focus presently is eBooks and its Kindle readers, however it is expected their Australian product offering will enlarge over (a short period of) time, thus the concern of not only Woolworths and Coles (Wesfarmers) executives, but all retailers as Amazon.com uses their experience and expertise to accelerate online shopping take up and frequency while offering quicker and cheaper shipping from their Australian fulfilment centres. How do Central Queensland retail businesses compete against this apparent juggernaut? This is where being small and truly local will provide some advantage over stores like Myers and David Jones who with the continual erosion of the Australian middle class and a seemingly less dedicated focus on their own online presence appear more vulnerable to committed online retailers. Small and local should mean being able to provide friendly personal service, both online and offline. Customers I suspect will still react better to a human welcoming them by their name than a computer. If the local business also offers something unique, maybe a product it creates, or sources itself (even if from overseas) and develops a brand strategy for it that makes it desirable to not just the local market, this can provide an edge over commoditised international brand products. Cutting out the middlemen may prove as beneficial cost wise than the higher unit cost for the smaller production runs. Cost squeezing by supermarkets on their suppliers will also likely lead to more local producers selling direct to the public, and not just fruit and vege’s. The growth of the Handmade Expo Markets in Rockhampton an embryonic example. The tsunami that is online shopping can’t be stopped but with the changes it brings comes new opportunities.  Central Queensland businesses can with the right preparation and brand strategies embrace these opportunities. Innovation will be the key. Creating an environment that encourages this innovation in CQ is a priority. Government charges that seemingly discourage innovation by existing businesses need to be reviewed.