A few weeks ago we released a complete data analysis of what happened when Amazon entered the Dutch market.
It made quite some news, but as the coronavirus reached the Netherlands, the coverage of the topic was quickly overshadowed by the virus.
Coverage of the coronavirus obviously comes first. But Amazon’s entry into the Dutch market is not something to ignore, especially if you look at how Amazon is responding to the pandemic.
Below we’ve linked several articles about Amazon’s launch in the Netherlands so you can get the full picture of how it is changing the market.
Amazon NL launch
Amazon’s initial launch in the Netherlands was disappointing. Omnia’s analysis found that products were 7% more expensive on Amazon.nl than they were on Amazon.de, and on launch day Amazon.de’s assortment was at least ⅓ larger than Amazon.nl.
Our CEO Sander Roose spoke with several news outlets about the analysis. Below are links to the news articles. Please note that these articles are in Dutch, unless specified.
Amazon in the Netherlands: great for consumers, but supply is disappointing (RTLZ)
Amazon.nl is more expensive than Amazon.de (Retail News)
Amazon.de is 7% less expensive than Amazon.nl (Emerce)
Amazon suffers from startup problems: many products are missing (BNR)
Amazon.nl offers are disappointing after start up (BNR)
You can also see Sander's commentary on RTL news (beginning at 17 minutes).
Amazon and the coronavirus
For the last few weeks, the coronavirus has dominated the news cycle. As the world’s largest webshop, Amazon was forced to respond.
The story began as a success. To accommodate for the high volume of online orders that came as a result of the coronavirus, Amazon announced it would hire nearly 100,000 temporary workers to fill orders. Amazon NL also extended its return policy to reduce pressure on the already overburdened postal system.
In recent days though, Amazon has gained bad press in the United States as workers stage walkouts in protest of the company’s worker health protection policies. The protests in the US mirror earlier protests in Spain and Italy, and even the US government has written to the company to express concerns over employee safety.
Amazon has a responsibility to protect its employees (and the broader world, as a result) from the coronavirus. But like every other e-commerce company in the world, Amazon is under intense pressure at the moment. The Wall Street Journal reported that Amazon is receiving anywhere from 10%-40% more product orders now than it did at this time last year, and Amazon is under high pressure to deliver quality service.
The future of Amazon and the coronavirus
The coronavirus will change retail permanently, and no company — not even Amazon — is immune to its effects. The virus has opened up a completely new set of problems, and every company is struggling to navigate its way through the uncharted territory. It's unclear how the virus will affect Amazon NL's performance, but it will certainly be a unique business opportunity across the world.
