Amazon execution

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Australia Post Parcel Lockers versus Amazon Hub Lockers

In Australia our postal service provides lockers you can get parcels sent to. You get a text or email to let you know a parcel has arrived and they are accessible 24 x 7 to pick up. Very handy.

However, they are limited by the logistics capabilities of Australia Post, which means they don’t do deliveries on weekends (seems crazy right, but that’s Australia for you).

Recently when using Amazon I discovered they had their own version of the lockers, in their case called Hub Lockers. This has likely been available in other countries for years, but in Australia is relatively new.

But here’s the big difference between Amazon’s lockers and Australia Posts’. The delivery timeframe to the lockers.

I purchased a book on Amazon on Saturday night, and when selecting an Amazon Hub Locker it indicated next day delivery. I chose that, and sure enough my book was in the Hub Locker at midday on Sunday. 

Here’s the point: Amazon hit a limit – Australia Post’s capabilities. So what did they do? They built their delivery process.

Here’s the takeaway: A reminder to think laterally when you hit a limit (eg a marketing limit). What can you build to get around it.

Here’s one example: you hit a blocker because your target audience size is too small to meet ad platform requirements. What do you do? You augment with other audiences, even though they aren’t ideal targeting, just so you can reach your ideal audience.

(Here’s what they look like – this isn’t my local one, it’s just an image I grabbed from Google)

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By Craig Bailey

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