Digital Marketplace, Business Strategy Profs Available for Interviews
08/12/2020
Contacts for media: Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944 or Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu and Christine Gillette, 978-758-4664 or Christine_Gillette@uml.edu
Amazon.com Inc.’s reported bid to secure space in shopping malls to run the online retail giant’s fulfillment operations is a smart move, according to UMass Lowell business experts available for interviews on the subject.
Amazon is courting real-estate trust Simon Property Group – the largest mall operator in the country – in an effort to take over space previously held by ailing retailers such as Sears and J.C. Penney, according to several reports.
Locally, Simon manages the Burlington Mall in Burlington, and owns the Pheasant Lane Mall in Nashua, N.H. If the deal goes through, it would streamline Amazon’s operations, according to Spencer Ross, an expert on digital marketing.
“The most difficult part of logistics is getting the products to the customers – the so-called ‘last mile,’” Ross said. “Amazon has been working for years to perfect its ‘last mile’ strategy, whether it be partnering with the U.S Postal Service or adding Whole Foods as a location for customers to pick up orders. The move into malls would reduce the company’s reliance on third-party logistics providers, because it'll all be in-house.”
Scott Latham, a UMass Lowell expert on business strategy, agrees with Ross that transforming mall space into Amazon fulfillment centers would be a coup for the company, which posted an estimated $280.5 billion in revenues last year.
“Amazon is flush with cash and cash allows for experimentation and innovation. They would be buying these properties for pennies on the dollar. There’s no downside,” Latham said.
Latham, whose research also examines the future of work, sees another potential use for these mall locations.
“In the next five years, Amazon will roll out a fleet of automated delivery drones for land and air. To make this happen, they need ‘dronefields’ – essentially airfields – places the drone-delivery vehicles can come to pick up shipments, get services, etc. The fields cannot be more than a few miles away from customers, and most retail malls are located where they are because there is a large population within a 10-mile radius of them,” he said.
Both Ross and Latham are faculty members in UMass Lowell’s Manning School of Business. To arrange an interview with either of them via phone, email, Zoom or another platform, contact Nancy Cicco at 978-934-494 or Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu or Christine Gillette at 978-758-4664 or Christine_Gillette@uml.edu.