Amazon is reportedly poised to launch operations in Australia tomorrow (Thursday) to cash in on this week’s Black Friday sales extravaganza which is expected to generate millions of additional parcels for delivery by carriers in major markets around the world.
Amazon Australia is calling on third-party sellers to be prepared to receive orders by 2pm on Thursday afternoon ahead of the Black Friday discounting event on 24 November, which is expected to generate strong growth for the company across the globe.
In Australia, Amazon-registered sellers have been limited until now to sending goods offshore since the e-commerce giant didn’t have any warehouse in the country which meant for Australians that they had to wait for a long time and pay high shipping costs for deliveries.
Recently, however, Amazon has set up a distribution warehouse in Melbourne, with logistics analysts saying this will help cut open-ended delivery times to one or two days, Reuters reported. An Amazon representative in Australia declined to comment.
In April this year, the e-commerce giant announced that it plans to spend millions of dollars investing in the new ‘Amazon Australia Marketplace’ and promised to create “thousands of new jobs” amid an economic slowdown in the country.
Since Amazon confirmed plans to start operations in Australia, it has declined to say when it would begin taking orders. Today, the technology website Lifehacker Australia published a screenshot of an e-mail from Amazon to some Australian retailers registered to sell goods over its website, saying it would “start an internal testing phase with a small number of customers on Thursday 23 November”. “You should be prepared to receive orders from this point onward,” the e-mail added.
Going live in Australia tomorrow would help Amazon tap into Black Friday demand which is growing all over the world.
In the USA, all Amazon customers can choose from more than 100 million items that are eligible for free shipping this holiday and all year long. This includes eligible orders of $25 or more shipped by Amazon, as well as free shipping offers from the millions of small business and entrepreneurs selling on Amazon.
For customers who prefer to pick up their orders when it’s convenient for them, Amazon Locker is a safe and secure way to receive Amazon packages. The lockers are available in more than 50 cities across the USA, strategically located near offices, major convenience stores, grocery stores, apartment buildings and malls across the country.
“We’re excited to officially kickoff another holiday season, bringing customers better deals than ever before on everything they’ll need – from electronics and toys to clothing, home essentials and more,” Doug Herrington, Senior Vice President of North American Retail at Amazon, said. “Customers shop Amazon year-round for our great prices, unbelievable selection, and free shipping on over 100 million products.”
In the UK, nearly one in four (23%) SME retailers have been thinking about participating in Black Friday this year, up from 14% who say they participated last year, according to new research by YouGov.
The Black Friday Sale on Amazon.co.uk is running from midnight on Friday 17 November until 23:59 on Sunday 26 November. In addition to ‘Deals of the Day’, there will be thousands of ‘Lightning Deals’ – products available at a discount, in limited quantities, for a short period of time – introduced throughout the sale with new deals becoming available every five minutes.
Small businesses selling on Amazon Marketplace are preparing for record breaking Black Friday sales, offering big discounts on thousands of items throughout Amazon’s Black Friday Sale event.
In Germany, the “Cyber Monday Week” which started on 20 November includes over 55,000 lightning deals and deals of the day with discounts of up to 50%. In addition, Prime members benefit from numerous offers including AmazonFresh which is available to Prime members in Berlin, Potsdam, Hamburg and Munich, and the ultra-fast Prime Now service.
Earlier this month, the company started its parcel delivery concept “Amazon Flex” in Germany enabling private individuals who have their own vehicle and a driving license to work for Amazon as parcel carriers. On a dedicated website, Amazon is currently looking for drivers in Berlin promising attractive remuneration for a four-hour shift. The Amazon Flex model has been available in the USA, the UK and Singapore until now.
In France, Amazon is offering customers special deals on over 20,000 products promising savings worth millions of euros during the “Black Friday Week” with five consecutive days of “Flash sales”.
Earlier this month, Amazon France announced that it has created 7,500 temporary jobs at its five distribution centres in the country, in addition to 5,500 regular staff to help them prepare and ship customer orders for Black Friday and Christmas. In 2017, Amazon will have created a total of 1,500 new full-time jobs at its French sites. Last year, 1,000 temporary jobs had been transformed in permanent full-time contracts.
In Spain, Amazon is offering customers 15,000 products with discounts ranging between 20-40% during the Black Friday Week until Cyber Monday on 27 November. Black Friday will also include Prime Now offers allowing Amazon Prime customers living in the metropolitan areas of Madrid and Barcelona to access hundreds of products that are eligible for ultra-fast delivery in one or two hours.
To cope with the rising volumes during the Black Friday Week and the Christmas season, Amazon has hired over 2,700 workers in Spain this year, with hundreds of such temporary positions being converted in permanent contracts each year (300 last year). The temporary workers will join more than 900 permanent staff at the logistics centres throughout Spain helping them collect, pack and distribute customers' Christmas orders.
In Italy, Amazon is also offering 15,000 products with discounts ranging between 20-40% during the Black Friday Week until Cyber Monday on 27 November.
