Your task
To adequately compete with Amazon and ensure that they do not take up too much market share, you have been hired as an external consultant by Woolworths to provide a strategy on how they can prepare and compete with Amazon appropriately. Provided below are several internal and external issues that Woolworths are grappling with that need to be solved. These are outlined below:
Worried shareholders: Worried shareholders: Shareholders are worried about Amazon’s rise as they see this as a threat to Woolworth’s share price Poor online customer service: Poor online customer service: Woolworths customers have been complaining that when they try and order their groceries online (website and mobile) they can’t suaciently ask questions and engage with staff members for advice and/or enquiries
Social media ineptitude: Social media ineptitude: Woolworths are worried that their social media interactions are insuacient and unengaging and that consumers do not have any desire to interact with the brand Corporate staff insuaciently trained: Corporate staff insuaciently trained: The company has identiIed that not all their staff members are sure of how the online grocery ordering system works. This also extends to payment to suppliers Price: Woolworths are unable to compete with Amazon on prices of particular products
Website not so user-friendly: Website not so user-friendly: Amazon’s online ordering system is much more user-friendly than Woolworths Distribution: Distribution: Woolworths has more effective distribution channels than Amazon already set-up in Australia but feel that Amazon is starting to make strong moves in this space. Not only that, but costs for the different buying channels for consumers is higher than simply operating online Supplier relationships: Supplier relationships: Some suppliers are willing to offer Amazon better terms than Woolworths Brand reputation: Brand reputation: Woolworths has noticed that their reputation is decreasing, and Amazon’s is increasing here in Australia Poor consumer loyalty: Poor consumer loyalty: Consumer loyalty is diacult to establish in the FMCG market and while Woolworths has a large market share, consumers don’t seem to be particularly loyal