After Amazon’s launch into food delivery, Retail Week examines the other areas the online behemoth could dip its toe in to.

Amazon has come a long way since its humble beginnings as an online book store. The retailer now sells everything from food to fashion, streams and produces TV shows and movies, and now delivers takeaways to your home.

Founder at strategic consultancy The Next Big Thing Will Higham believes Amazon has only scratched the surface when it comes to expanding its offer.

“Generations Y and X don’t put businesses into boxes, they’re happy to buy insurance from a grocer. The most important thing is that it’s a brand they trust,” he says.

With expansion opportunities aplenty to go for, Retail Week explores where Amazon will move next.

Amazon take-over

Amazon’s possible take-over

As Amazon launches into food delivery, Retail Week explores what other areas the online behemoth could dip its toe in to

Physical stores

Amazon has already started opening shops and has two book stores in the US, with more planned. However, chief executive of trend forecaster The Future Laboratory Trevor Hardy expects Amazon to open department stores to give a taster of its wide array of products.

“It could fill the void of department stores which have been contracting, especially in the US,” he says.

Head of media futures at media agency Carat Global Dan Calladine also expects Amazon to open more stores in the future, however, he expects them to act more as collection points.

“They could use kiosks for people to collect goods ordered online, but also to sell the week’s biggest products, such as the latest DVD or CD release,” he says.

Etailers are increasingly making the move onto the high street.

Ocado opened Fabled.com last month, a beauty store in partnership with Marie Claire and young fashion etailer Missguided is opening its first store at Westfield Stratford City later this year.

It is feasible that the world’s largest etailer could follow suit.

“Amazon’s venture into restaurant delivery hangs on its expertise in moving consumer goods”

Mobile phone contracts

Amazon has already dabbled with producing mobile devices with its Fire tablet and phone, however, Calladine believes there is an opportunity for the etailer to move into mobile contracts.

He points out that Line – Japan’s answer to WhatsApp – has started its own mobile network.

“Amazon is a brand that people trust. They use their phone to access Amazon’s website. It seems like an area it could have success with,” says Calladine.

Gym memberships

Calladine can also envisage Amazon offering gym memberships in the future: “Amazon have so much information about demographics. They know all about people and what they like. They will know who is likely to go to the gym,” he says.

However, rather than opening gyms, Calladine sees Amazon as brokering the deals on behalf of independent operators.

Mortgages and loans

Amazon could use the trust its shoppers have in the brand to launch an array of financial services products, says Calladine. Retailers such as Marks & Spencer and John Lewis have credit cards while others such as Shop Direct and Next offer credit to its customers.

The reams of customer data Amazon holds gives the etailer the tools it would need to manage credit risk. “No one knows more about you and whether you pose a credit risk than Amazon,” says Calladine.

Holidays by Amazon

Travel is another area that Amazon is tipped to move in to. Calladine says purchasing data can reveal a lot about the type of holidays that a customer goes on, and expects Amazon to capitalise.

Hardy also believes travel is in the offing and can envisage Amazon offering more experiences: “It’s a natural extension of buying stuff – it’s buying into a lifestyle. People are now increasingly looking to have experiences rather than products.”

Taxis

Amazon’s venture into restaurant delivery hangs on its expertise in moving consumer goods.

Calladine says it is feasible it could use these skills to move people around, mirroring taxi app giant Uber, which has recently moved into delivering goods and food.

“It’s conceivable that they could do a ‘reverse Uber’,” says Calladine. “They have the logistics capability to work it out. It will be more of a stretch to move from goods to people than vice versa.

“Uber is easily the best known brand in the taxi market. It would be interesting to see what would happen if Amazon went into it.”

News broadcasting

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos owns the Washington Post and the etailer already produces original video content for Amazon Prime Video. However, Hardy could forsee a move by the etailer into news reporting: “There’s been a decline in trust and financial health of media companies.

”Amazon is a trusted brand and could easily become a media channel,” he adds.

A full concierge service

Higham says Amazon Prime could offer a full concierge service for shoppers, says Higham. He expects Amazon to be at the forefront of the Internet of Things and to hold the intelligence to order the products and services it knows each shopper needs.

“Whatever I want, Amazon Prime should be able to sort it, whether its delivering my takeaway, finding me a tradesperson or ordering me a taxi,” he says.

Higham expects Amazon Prime to offer a service akin to concierge service Quintessentially, which manages users’ lifestyles, from booking flights and hotels to reserving restaurants.