Amazon’s plans for anticipatory shipping

Data is everywhere, we are well aware of that, but with digital and technological innovation moving at a furious pace, how is it being utilised?

All-seeing, all-knowing Amazon, the e-commerce steamroller, plans to use some of the vast amounts of data that it collects to ship you items it thinks you want before you have even bought them. In essence, Amazon thinks it knows you better than you know yourself and was recently granted a patent for anticipatory shipping. The sad thing is that this may well be true. Historical purchasing trends, survey answers, demographic data, browsing habits, cursor hover patterns, wish lists and more will all provide Amazon with what it needs to predict what product we want and deliver it moments after we have clicked the buy button.

We all know how exciting it can be waiting for the package that we ordered and the impatient among us invariably want it to arrive a little bit sooner. It seems Amazon are trying to tap in to our emotions by giving us what we want before we know it, but is it a step too far and is it something that basically already happens?

There will be major concerns over what happens if a product is delivered but was not actually purchased. Amazon suggest they could combat this by giving the product for free as a goodwill gesture, further enhancing that loyalty or offer them to someone in a nearby area at a discounted rate. Online retailers are constantly trying to reduce their returns rates, as the postage cost is often picked up by the retailer and eats into their margins. Surely anticipatory shipping can only lead to an increase in returns and repackaging?

The real issue comes with how the data has been used to predict what consumers will buy. A recent survey (carried out in the UK by YouGov) showed that 37% of consumers think Amazon’s move would be an invasion of their privacy. We are all aware and intrigued about how our data is being used, but is this another reason to anxious about it?

The distribution chain relies on past demand. Stocking up delivery centres based on forecasted demand in a specific geographic area isn’t any different from Tesco and Sainsbury’s ordering an extra thousand turkeys on the 1st of December. Using data from club cards and alike has been going on for some time too, using buyers’ previous actions to market to and anticipate further purchases.

Keep in mind this is just a patent and Amazon hasn’t announced any plans to implement such a service. The cynic in me believes that may have grabbed the patent as a way of ensuring that nobody else tries to develop a similar analytical system but it does show that speed of delivery is high on the agenda (delivery drones too). 55% of those UK persons questioned, said that they would actually be annoyed if Amazon commenced delivery of a product before purchase. Not a positive sign, but in the era of everything instant, is it just a matter of time?

Perhaps I should just keep an Amazon shopping cart full of goodies and see what shows up in the morning!