Amazon vs. Walmart: Analyzing Competitive Advantages and Strategies

This report provides a comparative analysis of Amazon and Walmart, two of the world's largest retailers. It examines their differing approaches to market dominance, focusing on their evolution from distinct business models to converging strategies. The report highlights Amazon's advancements in same-day delivery through crowd-sourcing and strategic investments in infrastructure, contrasting this with Walmart's efforts to integrate online services with its physical stores. The analysis delves into the challenges and advantages each company faces, including supply chain management, tax implications, and customer acquisition in the e-commerce landscape. It concludes that Amazon's proactive investment in delivery and its established online presence positions it to potentially surpass Walmart as the leading retailer, despite Walmart's efforts to leverage its existing supply chain and physical stores to compete in the online market.

Amazon V/S Walmart
Amazon is known to be the largest e-commerce company while Walmart is the world's largest
retailer undisputedly. In the past, these companies followed different tracks but are now on the
path of competitiveness. Clicks and bricks are seen to merge now. Walmart is thinking to start its
online service and Amazon is trying to model a program in which they are gone to deliver the
ordered products on the very same day. Manufacturer and retailers are following the same path to
reach the same level by changing their respective paths (Dawar, N., & Stornelli, J., 2013). As per
concern, the more successful approach might be that of amazon.com. Delivery of the products on
the same day at the customer place is more convenient to them than ordering and expensing
again to reach to the Walmart store (Skarmeas, D., Zeriti, A., & Baltas, G., 2016). Amazon is
going to hire more contractors for the delivery purpose and aiming crowd- source delivery which
means ordinary people will be paid off to deliver the packages to the customers. Many pilot
programs are also organized to ensure the tract of the ordinary people to the delivery point.
While on the other hand, Walmart may be offering the same day delivery to their respective
stores but the extra charges other than the order charges may deflect the purchasers to get
attracted towards Walmart since it will take the time to the customer along with the money while
ordering and reaching to the store i.e. place of order. On the other hand with the help of ordinary
people, Amazon is also able to provide an extra source of income to them. Therefore, the
Amazon approach is more enlightening than the Walmart idea (Chen, J. V., Yen, D., Dunk, K.,
& Widjaja, A. E., 2015).
Amazon is known to be significantly cheaper than other companies as it does not ask for
‘local taxes' rather include only ‘use tax'. Many local businesses pointed amazon and forced to
collect sale tax because of that it faced many legal challenges. Amazon accepted to collect tax

this tax capitulation shifted a major part of companies operations. As company agreed to collect
sale tax, it is allowed to set up regional ware houses that would let Amazon deliver fast in the
locality. Amazon will surely pull off the same-day delivery and that too not only in selected
urban market but throughout. Amazon is spending a lot of money to make it successful. The
company has promised to build local warehouses. It is investing much money in service and
distribution centers. Amazon is investing in shipping centers and also investing to make them
more efficient. This year it purchased a company which provided robots that improve shipping
time and reducing errors. These efforts seem to pay off to this success idea (Bell, D. R., Gallino,
S., & Moreno, A., 2014). Same day delivery that to with no extra charge is a successful idea as
customers will be more attracted to the cheaper and time consuming mean. Even if the prices are
equal in clicks and bricks, the gratification is favored. It takes time and traveling consumes
expenses so anyone would prefer home delivery that too fast over the offline service (Tsay, A.
A., & Agrawal, N., 2000). Amazon is already fast in the urban areas and expending such big
money will definitely make the company services fast in the non-urban areas.
This is an era of internet and Amazon being the world’s largest e-commerce company can
overtake the Walmart as the world’s largest retailer (Bell, D. R., Choi, J., & Lodish, L., 2012).
Like other bricks, Walmart is working hard for its prevalence and positions and heading towards
the online clicks business but Amazon threats it to the retailer level. Amazon is not competing
for the no. 9 or 10 but for the no. 1 position. Amazon started its life in 1994 as an online book
store, being so successful in every single step Amazon has more business development
strategies, experience and more investment plans so as to lead the market flaunting. Walmart is
just trying to leverage a world class supply chain and the goal is shifted to merge clicks and
bricks for the company while Amazon has reached far away by its investment strategies. One day

delivery has brought a great advantage to brick and motor retailer to Amazon. Walmart is
offering discounts whereas Amazon is way ahead with proper plans and execution. Supply chain
faces various challenges such as globalization, logistic costs, transportation costs, risks of
manufacturing and outsourcing, labor cost, sustainability and volatility (Hopkins, M. S., 2010).
Amazon stood up on all these challenges. It is difficult to make followers online for the products
than making customers offline and Amazon has already built up a big circle for online market
and invested in same day delivery while on the other hand Walmart had only offline store before
and is difficult to make up customers for the online store, people consider it a big risk (Straker,
K., & Wrigley, C., 2016). Hence, Amazon is a leading company and will raise over Walmart.

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