Amazon Germany will be introducing some new services in the not too distant future, it seems. Real life, bricks and mortar shops are on the way and delivery opportunities are coming too.
Depending on how well you read German, you can can find out more here in this newspaper report.
It’s interesting to note that 90% to 95% of retail sales in Germany are still made from bricks and mortar stores. Ecommerce does well, but it still seems Germans like shopping in shops. That’s why Ralf Kleber, who is the head of Amazon Germany, says “it’s not a question of if, but when” Amazon opens shop outlets. He didn’t set a timeframe.
It could be that Amazon start off with small scale grocery outlets, as was the case in the US. Amazon also has the chain of Whole Foods in the States, with some branches in the UK. It also has a chain of bookstores in the US too. No more details are available about what the might have in mind in Germany though at this point.
And another feature that Amazon will be intoducing in Germany will be Flex. That’s a service where people can take Amazon parcels and deliver them in their local area. It has previously only been available in the US but it’s not a bad little deal.
The exact details of the Germany deal aren’t clear. But in the USA allows people to register to pick up parcels and do local deliveries for Amazon Prime using their own cars for about $18-$25 per hour. The service is supposed to help with that vital “last mile” of delivery.
