Amazon’s Eating the World, One Acquisition at a Time

Last week, Amazon made one of its most high-profile acquisitions yet, buying up the national grocery chain Whole Foods for $13.7 billion. The purchase made immediate waves – a number of other prominent national grocers saw their stocks take a hit mere minutes after the announcement — with one analyst calling it a “seismic event” in the industry. 

With the acquisition, Amazon firmly plants its flag in an industry it had been toying with for years, further broadening its horizons – what don’t they do at this point?

In a recent LinkedIn Pulse post, Zander Wharton argues that the acquisition should put many more companies on their heels. In the past, a tech company buying a grocery chain might have sounded ridiculous. But Amazon’s reputation for disrupting markets and tearing through its competition could mean that no industry is safe. To avoid being eaten alive, these companies will need to think harder about how they innovate and stay disruptive in their own industry.

Of course, the Whole Foods story isn’t the only example of where technology is bleeding into — and impacting — the retail industry. Our EVP Jodi Petrie recently wrote about how brick-and-mortar retailers are still struggling to incorporate innovate tech, specifically mobile payments technology, into their physicals stores. Jodi offers her perspective on how brands can get out of their own way and better take advantage of technology to improve the customer experience.

Will tech and retail ever be able to play well together? The jury’s out.