Amazon has transformed itself from an online retailer frontier to a formidably big tech company, providing products and services that far surpass its initial premises. This tremendous transformation certainly did not happen overnight, but over two decades, and the impact thereof is reflected in growing
worldwide and in Europe. In the UK, for instance,
after Germany.
Amazon’s growth comes to a grinding halt in the UK
The United Kingdom is one of Amazon’s top European locations in terms of number of fulfillment services. In the UK, the company operates its supply chain and logistics operations as Amazon UK Services Ltd., with an income exceeding 155 million British pounds as of December 2022. However, the e-commerce crunch of 2022 affected Amazon’s worldwide operations, and the UK division was not spared. In early 2023, the e-commerce giant announced the first layoffs due to the closures of several warehouses in the country. Later in the year, Amazon shut down the previously acquired Book Depository.
The timeline of latest retail operations showed that Amazon Fresh business appeared to be quite erratic, too. 2023 marked the shutdown of three Amazon Fresh stores in the London neighborhoods of Wandsworth, East Sheen, and Ealing, but also the opening of the new store in Notting Hill.
What is coming next
Despite the latest outcomes of in-store business, Amazon has not ceased to expand its grocery offering. In 2023, it announced a partnership with supermarket Iceland, whose products will now be available to Prime users. The launch follows the scheme of previous deals with grocery chains Morrisons and Co-op.
By the end of 2024, the UK will be one of the few locations of ultra-fast drone delivery outside of the United States. The delivery option is seen with interest by UK consumers but still imposes use limitations due to weather conditions or parcel weight. After the launch of Prime Air delivery, the ambitious service is likely to be rolled out in other markets over the following year, with Amazon expecting the enormous costs of drone delivery will gradually decline.
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