now
(Seven-minute read)
As if the world has not got enough problems much of the retail sector is now buckling under the weight of COVID-19.
And now we have Amazon, trying to position itself as the forerunner in e-commerces.
From everything from health care to fresh food to your weekly shop, it is rapidly becoming the “retail apocalypse” and the search tool instead of Google.
With over 300 million customers it is using your shopping data to do so by promoting its own products before any others using its platforms, even if they are more expensive than competing products.
When the dust settles, we’ll see an evolution where there’s less focus on huge one-day sales like Black Friday to Cyber Mondays with more emphasis being put on a multi-day and multi-week [series of] continuation of sales.
(The term Black Friday refers to stores going into the black – becoming profitable – for the season.
Americans spent 6.3 million dollars (5.26 million euros) every second (!) On the Internet.
Online sales during the recent Black Friday and Cyber Monday for independent businesses selling on the platform topped $4.8 billion in worldwide sales, between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, up 60% from the year before.
Commodity value means assigning a value to different goods and services and of course, Amazon pontificates its green ambitions in its blurb.
But sustainable development is not just about the forest, nor is it a communist conspiracy, rather it relates to how humans operate.
All of us live in ecosystems, the only difference between them being how much they have been altered to suit human habitation.
Who decides what is sustainable?
Besides, sustainability requires recognition of the fact that how we obtain resources is having devastating impacts on the other species we share the planet with.
Since we live in ecosystems, and all ecosystems rely on communities of different species to be maintained; reducing the number of total species may have negative impacts on human populations. Research already shows that reducing biodiversity may influence rates of the spread and infections of certain pathogens and diseases
Amazon sustainability is a word used to promote collectivism.
An argument can be made for the idea that online shopping is less detrimental to the environment than traditional retail, but this is often untrue.
It is true that shopping online yields a smaller carbon footprint. However, it is also true that online sales create more vehicles, more traffic, and potentially more emissions.
As hundreds of millions of customers order simultaneously and expect two-day delivery there are more stops per delivery trip, with still more potentially nitrogen oxide emitted.
Unfortunately, Amazon is becoming one of the greatest promoters of unsuitability even if you believe in its commitment to Zero carbon by 2040.
Key Takeaways.
- Sustainability focuses on meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.
- Investors can be wary of companies that commit to sustainability. Although the optics can be beneficial to share price, investors worry about companies being transparent with their earnings results.
- Big brands often make pledges to sustainability, but it often takes a long time to achieve sustainability goals.
- Twenty years to do so is not good enough.
Have I used Amazon? Yes. Will I use it in the future? Yes, but not for fresh food or any item that can be produced locally.
All human comments appreciated. All like clicks and abuse chucked in the bin.
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