Nicely done comparison. I’ve thought about Costco in this regard too, with its creation of house branded merchandise when demand and volume warranted it (think “Kirkland” vs. “Craftsman” or “Kenmore”).

But there are differences too; differences in structure, differences in technology, differences in consumers’ expectations, and only time will tell how those play into the narrative of Amazon’s development.

One thing that recently impressed me was Amazon Locker. You order something, and instead of shipping it to your home (where you might or might not be at the time, making the box on your doorstep vulnerable to theft), they ship it to a set of lockers installed in a convenience store (or other 24/7 location) you specify.

My experience is that the shipping speed is faster (as you would expect, since it’s a destination to which they regularly ship), and since you’re able to choose the location you can pick a place you were driving past anyway, so it adds nothing to your cost … in money or time.

Right now it’s available only in larger urban areas, but if they manage to expand this to smaller markets (as I expect they will) it will be a game changer.

Walmart and The Home Depot (and I’m sure others as well), have tried to make this concept work — order online and pick up at the store — but their implementation is clunky at best. You order online, then you walk into the store, find the counter, stand in line, produce a bunch of documents, wait for a minimum-wage employee to wander around some shelves looking for your item and, with luck, after only 10 or 15 minutes you’ll be out the door. With Amazon Locker, you walk in, scan a barcode (or enter a series of code letters) at a control panel, and *pop* goes a door in the wall of lockers. Take your item and out you go.

Maybe the brick-and-mortars will pick this up too, and if they do, bravo. Either way, it will be a game changer in how people buy and take possession of their merchandise.