Amazon Australia branded a ‘lame duck’ due to high prices, slow deliveries, limited stock

ONE AUSTRALIAN retailer has branded Amazon Australia a complete dud after its launch failed to live up to its much-vaunted hype.

Amazon launched its Australian online store on December 5, though some have criticised its prices and services. Picture: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

RETAIL giant Amazon has been branded a “lame duck” after its Australian launch overnight revealed many products at significantly higher prices than local stores, a restricted range of items, and shipping times that will mean some Christmas gifts do not arrive in time.

The highly anticipated launch, shortly after midnight Tuesday, also failed to deliver Amazon’s discounted, expedited shipping service, Prime, in a move retail experts predicted would hurt the company’s popularity Down Under.

Amazon’s launch in Australia has hit a few road blocks. Picture: Supplied

Amazon’s Australian store unveiled “millions of new products” listed on its first day of operation, and country manager Rocco Braeuniger said the company would continue to add more products and services to “earn the trust and the custom of Australian shoppers in the years to come”.

But the high price of many items listed with Amazon Australia disappointed many shoppers, in addition to its limited range of items, and slow delivery times for items not shipped directly through Amazon.

Harvey Norman founder Gerry Harvey branded its launch so close to Christmas “extraordinarily strange” and compared the arrival of the American online retailer to the dotcom bubble, saying expectations were simply too high.

“This is how strange it is: people think Amazon, which has one warehouse in Melbourne, would open it up, sell millions and millions of dollars worth of stuff every day, be able to deliver it before Christmas, people would go crazy, and everything would be half price,” Mr Harvey said.

Rocco Braeuniger of Amazon Australia said that the company would continue to add more products and services. Picture: Supplied

“Some of these things feed on themselves and they mostly end up being a lame duck.”

Mr Harvey said Amazon’s arrival just 19 days before Christmas would also hurt its initial popularity as “most people won’t buy online because it’s (a case of) heads you get it, tails you don’t”.

But Finder.com.au insights manager Graham Cooke said Amazon’s failure to deliver cheaper prices, or even price parity in some cases, would hurt its reputation with Australian consumers the most, and it could take time to win their attention again.

“Looking at the launch, the prices aren’t significantly cheaper than what’s already in the market ... and some are more expensive,” he said. “We haven’t seen that big discounting immediately.”

Strange pricing across the Australian site included the top model iPhone X priced at $370 more than Apple itself charges, and a Samsung 75-inch TV for $1000 over its recommended retail price, and $2504 more expensive than available in a store.

Some consumers have complained that their Christmas packages will not arrive on time. Picture: Supplied

Amazon also launched free standard shipping for purchases over $49, and $10 one-day shipping in most capital centres, but only on goods sold directly through Amazon, rather than its Marketplace.

Cooke said Amazon’s failure to launch its Prime service, offering discounted, expedited shipping, was likely to disappoint Australian online shoppers, as six in 10 named free delivery as the most important factor outside price when shopping online, according to Finder.com.au research.

PayPal Australia spokesman Brian McDonnell said Amazon should not underestimate the importance of delivery options in a country like Australia, as its Shop Off The Beaten Path report showed two out of three Australian shoppers failed to complete a purchase due to its shipping cost.

10 AMAZON AUSTRALIA PRICES COMPARED

Kodak i5600V A3 Scanner

Amazon Australia: $87,162

Printer Barn: $79,898

Difference: $7264 more

Samsung 75-inch UHD Series 7 TV

Amazon Australia: $7499

Harvey Norman: $4995

Difference: $2504 more

Apple iPhone X 256GB

Amazon Australia: $2199

Apple Australia: $1829

Difference: $370 more

SanDisk 128GB Extreme Pro memory card

Amazon Australia: $400

Amazon America: $183

Difference: $217 more

GoPro Hero5 action camera

Amazon Australia: $560

JB Hi-Fi: $499

Difference: $61 more

Samsung Galaxy Note 8

Amazon Australia: $1437

Harvey Norman: $1388

Difference: $49 more

Amazon Kindle Voyage e-book reader

Amazon Australia: $299

Officeworks: $294

Difference: $6 more

Nintendo Switch games console

Amazon Australia: $399

EB Games: $469

Difference: $70 cheaper

PlayStation 4 Pro 1TB

Amazon Australia: $469

EB Games: $559

Difference: $90 cheaper

FIFA 18 game for PS4

Amazon Australia: $39

Big W: $79

Difference: $40 cheaper

Originally published as Amazon Australia branded a ‘lame duck’ due to high prices, slow deliveries, limited stock