Every time Amazon rolls one of these services out that is supposed to make it hard on the brick-and-mortar competition, Amazon's fulfillment centers are mentioned, which also have to be brick and mortar.
I believe Walmart/Sam's Club, Costco, and Target have a decided advantage on the real estate/fulfillment center side. Every store can be a "fulfillment center". The trick for these guys is going to be not waiting until the foot traffic dries up before they attack Amazon directly. And of course they already are to some extent, but if you read these articles about Amazon that seem to appear every week, the perception seems to be that the old players have no chance at competing.
A huge caveat for Amazon is they still don't make a profit. Whether that's by choice, I'm not really sure.
I believe Walmart/Sam's Club, Costco, and Target have a decided advantage on the real estate/fulfillment center side. Every store can be a "fulfillment center". The trick for these guys is going to be not waiting until the foot traffic dries up before they attack Amazon directly. And of course they already are to some extent, but if you read these articles about Amazon that seem to appear every week, the perception seems to be that the old players have no chance at competing.
A huge caveat for Amazon is they still don't make a profit. Whether that's by choice, I'm not really sure.