Pet Care, Worldwide

We’re not Amazon

Amazon dog products
“We’re not Amazon.” You’d presume every business aspires to be ‘the next Amazon’. On the contrary, an insight into Amazon may be the best business school you attend. When you’re in business you expect competition, healthy competition, like in life, it makes us better- pushes us to do better. But when competition is replaced by combat pick your battles wisely. Amazon shopping, entertainment, artificial intelligence, and product base is rivaled by few if no company on the planet. Not bad when they began by selling books.

If Amazon began with a drive to grow and add value to peoples lives some where along the journey the vehicle derailed.

The world’s largest ‘shop’ is also the world’s largest retail pit stop. As a business you hope to build on a need, make a mark and better the lives of those people who interact with you.
We must stop this unabashed notion that Amazon is the nerve center of shopping and the holy grail of all commodities. The deification of a platform which lives of small sellers and workers worldwide is antithetical to the ‘support your local vendor’ Your unabashed worship of self first, society later has made Amazon what it is today.
For every lock down philosopher who is vocal to support local businesses, and then shops on Amazon, because ‘I needed it now!” You are part of the problem. Certain businesses and products do not belong on an impersonal market place. They belong all tangled up in the personality and passion of a small business, who love what they do.
Want to know why your local vendor cannot sell to you at the prices Amazon can? Corporate vs community, is the short answer.

The brand/ product visibility myth that “only Amazon can offer” you will soon learn is a myth. An individual or business hopes to create a livelihood or sustainable business through Amazon. Businesses quickly learn they’re going down the wrong path.

Shopping on Amazon
Photo Credit : Andrea Piacquadio
The behemoth caters to a petulant shopper who must have their way. They complain mercilessly, bear no responsibility and issue the ultimate threat- a bad review. For the enthusiastic “research oriented shopper” here’s a tip- all those positive product reviews on Amazon, they’re probably paid reviews.

Customers are of the opinion that the world functions like a conglomerate. They expect answers on demand and products to magically arrive overnight (for free!). These are the same customers who are ‘vocal for local.’ Amazon does not speak to customers they entice customers. The brat in all of us has finally found an outlet.

Curtail your Amazon cravings to leave a remotely livable planet for your children. The carbon footprint of an average Amazon order will make for an interesting study. There’s boxes, labels, tape, invoices …

It is unfair to blame a single company for our environmental woes. However, a company that sells some 12 million items through its portal must bear a chunk of the burden. They’re not alone, we the shopper, are to blame. In a hyper linked world, everything is on demand 24 x 7 has created a shopping disorder known as “I want it NOW”

When a pet business goes down the Amazon model, you know the business is cashing in on a trend. It is not building for a community. Is the average shopper’s mind being irreversibly molded by Amazon?

We’re not Amazon because we offer customer service not support. The difference? A service knows you, your dog, its name and specific needs. We talk to you, not customer support who identify you by order number. Oliver knows your name, and your dogs name and his or her quirks.

Swapping pet stories with our customers is one of the perks of small business. The downside? There are a few we cannot offer the overnight capabilities of the big guys. Exchange a product multiple times or give you millions of products to choose from.

We will give you advice, and a ear to listen to your pet problems. As pet owners we cannot and will not ‘talk you into a sale’ because we do as we say ‘if our pets don’t use it, neither do yours.”

Businesses are for profit, but never profit at any cost.

Cover Photo Credit: Cottonbro

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