AMAZON.COM CONTINUES TO diversify at a relentless pace. Besides offering same-day delivery of groceries in some metropolitan areas and testing drones for even faster distribution. Amazon now plans to capture a large piece of the over $10 billion college bookstore market. In a pilot project, Amazon initiated a student-centered program at three large universities: Purdue University. the University of California, Davis. and the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The goal of Amazon Campus is co-branded university-specific websites that offer textbooks. paraphernalia such as the ubiquitous logo sweaters and baseball hats. as well as ramen noodles!
As part of this new campus initiative, Amazon offers its Prime membership to students at a 50 percent discount ($49 a year) and guarantees unlimited next-day delivery of any goods ordered online, besides all the other Prime membership benefits (free streaming of media content. loaning one e-book a month for free, discounts on hardware, etc.). To accomplish next-day delivery. Amazon is building fashionable delivery centers on campus, university co-branded such as ‘amazon@purdue.” Once a package arrives. students receive a text message and can then retrieve it via code-activated lockers or from Amazon employees directly. The on-campus delivery facilities also serve as student return centers.
Amazon’s new campus initiative allows it to bind a younger generation of shoppers ever closer into its web of products, services. and content. Next-day delivery makes students less likely to shop at traditional campus bookstores. Amazon also has a history of selling textbooks at a discount in comparison to old-line campus bookstores. All course materials automatically qualify for next-day delivery and do not require a Prime membership. The Amazon Campus initiative is predicted to save students $200 to $400 a year on textbooks and other supplies. Amazon.com continues to spend billions on seemingly unrelated diversification efforts. Do you believe these efforts contribute to Amazon gaining and sustaining a competitive advantage? Why or why not?
