Credit: Sean Gallup, Getty Images
- By Brian Van Slyke, Truthout:
How to avoid Amazon
“With an increasing spotlight on Amazon’s horrendous labor practices and unethical delivery tactics, more and more people are looking for ways to give gifts to loved ones while avoiding the corporate behemoth.
“Of course, it’s not so easy: Part of Amazon’s larger strategy has been to make us completely reliant on it. Many of us can’t completely avoid Amazon (I use it from time to time), and others are dependent on its products or services for their livelihoods, and should not be shamed for that. Like any good evil company, Amazon has made it nearly impossible to completely escape its web, whether you are a business owner, a consumer or even a medical patient.
“But when we do have the choice, the most powerful way consumers can fight back against Amazon is to simply not give it our money.”
“But from the moment I clicked that checkout button to when the package was dropped off at my doorstep, I had set off a chain of events that was made possible only by exploitation. Amazon’s incredible deliveries aren’t powered by magic; they are powered by human misery in unsafe Amazon warehouses as well as on the streets by overstressed and underpaid delivery contractors.”
“How to avoid Amazon:
“Support independent artists and buy from local businesses
“Imagine alternative gifts and experiences.
“Shop co-op and fair trade.”
“More brands are leaving Amazon, but the strategy could backfire”
“Even if brands end their relationship with Amazon, shoppers can still purchase their products on the site via third-party sellers. And unless companies can develop an e-commerce strategy to compete with Amazon’s customer-obsessed mindset, experts say ditching Amazon has the potential to backfire.
“Amazon continues to dominate online shopping. It controls 38% of the e-commerce market in the U.S., far ahead of rivals like eBay and Walmart, which only claim single-digit percentages, according to eMarketer.
“Brands that attempt to replicate the services they lost by ditching Amazon may find it impossible. Amazon’s logistics and shipping operations, site traffic and mountains of shopper data are hard to match, even if you’re a well known brand like Ikea,” by Annie Palmer, CNBC. Read more
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