Ever buy the latest Stephen King thriller or your favorite band’s new CD and wish you could pick up a new computer while you’re at it? In the future, you might be able to satisfy just such a craving.
What would cause two successful companies like Dell and Amazon.com that sell different merchandise to enter into a partnership? The ability to tap into large traffic streams, for one thing. Both companies can reach Internet shoppers that may never have purchased from their sites. For instance, a shopper that frequents Dell may never have bought from Amazon.com and vice versa.
So far, the arrangement is limited to links at the checkout portions of the Amazon.com and Dell Web sites. Amazon.com will ask shoppers whether they’d be interested in a Dell computer to go along with their CD or video purchase. Dell will reciprocate by asking shoppers poised to purchase a computer whether they’d be interested in a book from Amazon.com.
“Dell and Amazon.com have a shared vision of the future of online shopping,” said Michael Dell, chairman and CEO of Dell, in a prepared statement. “That vision is to use the Web to deepen direct relationships with customers and deliver unique value and unparalleled service. Dell and Amazon.com will each offer our mutual customers customized services, competitive price and easy navigation.”
For sites that want to be major players in e-commerce, evolution and diversification may be required. This deal is another step for both companies as they delve deeper into the emerging possibilities presented by Internet commerce. Amazon.com has steadily expanded from books to videos and CDs and continues to branch out its focus with a direct link to a well-known computer retailer. Dell, which recently opened an online store called Gigabuys.com, hopes to gain new customers by offering more e-commerce solutions.
It remains to be seen whether someone buying a book or CD can be prompted to shop for a computer because of a link on a checkout page. However, the agreement between the two heavyweights no doubt will be expanded, possibly to include specific merchandise recommendations.
No doubt if the partnership is successful, it will spawn more marketing agreements between retailers whose products are not in direct competition.
