E-commerce

Myer unveils click-and-collect partnership with Amazon Australia

Starting next Wednesday Australians will be able to pick up their Amazon packages at selected Myer stores around the country, with 21 locations selected as click-and-collect hubs.

The new partnership, called Amazon Hub, will combine the benefits of offline and online shopping, the businesses said, providing them an alternative to parcel delivery and an opportunity to access Myer stores for further products and services.

“This partnership is about combining our services to create greater convenience for our customers,” Myer chief customer officer Geoff Ikin said.

“Additionally, given the current restrictions that Australians are experiencing, and with many customers rightly concerned about multiple trips to fulfill their shopping needs, Myer is uniquely placed to offer easy access and parking and a safe environment where customers can shop [and] collect their Amazon purchases.”

Upon checkout Amazon customers will be able to select one of 21 Myer stores across the country for their package to be delivered to, and will receive an email with a code to present upon arrival at the store.

And the businesses plan to extend the service to further Myer stores after the Christmas period, including more regional areas around the country.

Amazon Australia’s director of operations Craig Fuller said the business is excited to partner with Myer.

“Not only does it provide our customers with more control, but it enables them to enjoy a quick and simple pickup experience at Myer’s network of conveniently located stores,” Fuller said.

The partnership could be an opportunity for the department store to play off of Amazon’s strengths, and has the potential to positively lift Myer’s brand awareness, argued Macquarie Business School’s associate professor Jana Bowden.

“Amazon has really cemented itself as the enemy that has to be slept with,” Bowden told Inside Retail.

“Many retailers, especially department stores, are not adept, agile, or digitally and logistically resourced enough to pivot effectively to online and grow. This is especially true for the outdated department format which was frankly dragging its feet pre-covid, and which is now in a fight for survival during Covid.”

According to Bowden this partnership is an example of how to pivot effectively during the pandemic, though she warned that whether the risk will pay off in the long run remains to be seen.

“It would seem more convenient to have the packages delivered to your door”

But the claims of convenience aren’t so black and white, said QUT Business School’s professor Gary Moritmer, with most of the benefit falling to the Amazon side of the partnership.

“Amazon will benefit… rather than Amazon being responsible for the cost of delivering individual packages to individuals around Australia, they will now deliver a portion of those packages to one location – a local Myer store,” Mortimer told Inside Retail.

“It’s not clear is Myer have considered the extra costs in this tie-up. Myer will need to recieve an Amazon delivery at the back dock, unload and transport packages to the Hub inside the store, and then staff the hub during business hours.”

And while a partnership between eBay and supermarkets makes sense, Mortimer argues, customers are less likely to impulse buy at Myer when picking up their goods.

“I don’t see the value of convenience. Unless you live or work near a Myer store, you’ll need to drive, park and navigate a shopping centre. It would seem more convenient to have the packages delivered to your door.”

The stores in question are spread across New South Wales in Sydney City, Bondi Junction, Chatswood, Warringah, Macquarie, Parramatta, Castle Hill and Roselands; Victoria in Melbourne City, Highpoint, Doncaster, Chadstone, Southland and Geelong; Queensland in Brisbane, Chermside, Carindale, Pacific Square and Maroochydore; South Australia in Adelaide; and Western Australia in Perth.

This story first appeared on our sister site Inside Retail Australia.