Technology Providing The Answer | The Daily Wobble

Amazon is, of course, the hottest thing since sliced bread. In other news, ice is cold. The thing that’s been changing lately, however, is that Amazon is also making leaps and bounds in the consumer packaged goods (or CPG) department, one that is usually reserved for physical storefronts. You can go to the store for a bag of chips, or you can order a bunch of bags of chips through Amazon Prime. How can CPG producers get a heftier chunk of the profit? The answer is clear: fight tech with tech.

See, one of the major edges Amazon has over brick and mortar retail is that it’s always tracking and monitoring its customers’ spending habits. You buy some random doodad, and Amazon is like “hey, here’s another random doodad you might like,” and the cycle continues. CPG producers can’t really track their customer demographics, at least not without Amazon’s help. It’s either cave into Amazon, or fly blind in physical storefronts. Some businesses, however, have begun employing artificial intelligence to even the playing field.

AI can manage information about deliveries and demographics, which would allow CPG producers to bypass the middleman and sell straight to the consumer at a profit. Some brands have been doing this for a couple of years now, and the results have been promising. Of course, this little invisible war between CPG producers and Amazon probably wouldn’t do brick and mortar storefronts any favors, but if the recent outcropping of delivery services are any indication, they’re figuring themselves out as well.