Highlighting how small businesses can compete with Amazon by leveraging technology platforms to offer unique, personalized shopping experiences and efficient delivery services.
Amazon has experimented, adapted, and now appears to be present in every aspect of e-commerce. The days when Amazon sold just books feels like a bygone era of the Internet. As it has grown its dominant business network, it has taught us about our two-day delivery and “free shipping” addictions, and has raised our digital shopping expectations in every way. Many retail and e-commerce businesses discovered they couldn’t compete with Amazon’s curation, scope, pricing, or delivery along the way. But now with tools like Shopify, Zapiet and EasyRoutes, small businesses can compete!
While most customers appreciate Amazon’s ruthless convenience, the experience started to feel inauthentic somewhere along the way. Furthermore, many customers noticed that Amazon was profiting from a significant portion of the money they spent on a daily basis. As Amazon’s dominance grew, especially in COVID, where so many businesses were struggling, it felt unbalanced. Many shoppers want to support local businesses, especially as the world recovers from the pandemic. Consumers spent $861.12 billion on online purchases with US merchants alone in 2020. Most people have forgotten about a bustling Main Street and the unique, more personalized experience it offers.
Businesses of all sizes can now compete with Amazon by leveraging new technology partners like Shopify, Zapiet, and EasyRoutes. They can also cater to new audiences and provide unique, branded, and efficient levels of service, in addition to better serving existing customers with delivery.
Shopify is an e-commerce platform that allows users to create and manage online stores. It aids in the organization of a retailer’s website’s layout for a pleasing, customer-focused user experience, as well as payment processing. Through its simple platform, over 1.7 million businesses have created an e-commerce channel.
Zapiet provides services to business in over 150 countries that use Shopify and want to offer local pickup, shipping, and delivery to their customers. It has an unrivaled feature set, including product availability control, Shopify POS integration, live multi-location inventory, fraud prevention, and exceptional order management tools.
Shopify merchants can use EasyRoutes’ last mile delivery software to take control of delivery and manage the last mile from their store to their customer’s door.
EasyRoutes has earned its reputation as a trusted delivery leader thanks to route optimization, 5-star reviews, and a simple onboarding process. EasyRoutes is also directly integrated with Shopify, so as soon as you open the app your orders are there waiting to be routed.
EcoFuel started out as a small online store selling natural heating products in 2014. While other companies try to expand their product lines, EcoFuel did the exact opposite. Rather than adding products, they narrowed their selection year after year until they were all-in on sustainability. EcoFuel has since grown into a leading Irish renewable fuel brand, supplying high-quality kiln-dried firewood and wood briquettes to homes across the country.
Misa Christmas Trees has been in business since 1940 and is New Zealand’s largest Christmas tree delivery and removal company. When US marines began buying the tops of Macrocapa trees to use as Christmas trees, the property became a Christmas tree farm. Since then, the Misa family has grown and sold Christmas trees for four generations, and the farm has quickly become Auckland’s favorite place to buy Christmas trees. Many families make a point of going to the farm to walk among the trees that are still growing. Some of their customers have been coming back for four generations!
Chris Lerohl and Ray Ma (Honest Dumplings), Jamie Scott (South Island Pie Co.), and Orrey Metz came together to form the Uproot Food Collective (Natural Kitchen Delights). These Edmonton food producers and farmers market vendors saw an opportunity to form a cooperative with other like-minded food producers and vendors in order to save money and grow their businesses. All of the Uproot Food Collective’s brands share a commitment to producing high-quality food products and operate out of a brick-and-mortar storefront with a certified manufacturing facility. All of their ingredients are sourced locally whenever possible, their recipes are unique and innovative, and they all operate in a transparent manner.
Bloomen.ca was founded in 2016 to provide online flower delivery services for any occasion, regardless of style, taste, or budget. This florist, which is owned and operated by Canadians, followed a simple business model: cut out the middlemen. By avoiding wholesalers and flower shops, BLOOMEN is able to provide the freshest flowers with the longest-lasting blooms. It also meant that they could avoid using courier services and make their own deliveries.
Customers will seek out unique, specialized experiences as they resurface from lockdowns. They may want to go to a store, or they may prefer delivery, which has become a more permanent habit. Any small to large business can create an online presence, learn about digital shopping best practices, and then fulfill a customer’s pick-up and delivery preferences. Zapiet, Shopify, and EasyRoutes have teamed up to offer a more affordable and enjoyable alternative to Amazon’s stock offerings and dominance.
Roundtrip's mission is to equip every business with the software tools they need to deliver products to their customers in a delightful way. Thousands of Shopify merchants worldwide choose EasyRoutes to power their local deliveries across dozens of product categories, from meal kits and groceries to coffee, cupcakes, kibble, and so much more. Our easy-to-use route planning and delivery optimization app is certified Built for Shopify, a two-time Shopify staff pick, and the top rated local delivery app on the Shopify App Store.
