Irish shoppers feeling Amazon 'guilt', but rivals face huge catch-up

As non-essential retail shops reopen, most Irish Amazon customers are happy to remain loyal because of price and speed of delivery, survey shows

Despite a degree of 'Amazon fatigue', Irish retailers have a long way to go to lure shoppers away from Amazon. This is despite a survey showing Irish shoppers feel guilty shopping with Amazon.

Nearly a third of Irish consumers feel guilty for shopping on Amazon, while almost half want to reduce the amount they purchase through the online retail giant, according to a survey.

However, even with the guilt and non-essential retail shops reopening, most Irish Amazon users are not planning to change the way they shop – happy to remain loyal because of price and speed of delivery.

A survey by data research firm Sitecore shows 46% of Irish shoppers would like to reduce the amount of shopping they do via Amazon, while 29% feel “guilty” after they’ve used the site.

Nevertheless, low delivery costs and a “more personalised” experience than other retailers are deemed to be keeping Irish customers loyal to Amazon, with more than 50% of those surveyed having signed up to the retailer’s Amazon Prime add-on services programme. 

Such features helped Amazon extend its lead in the online retail sector during the lockdown.

Furthermore, Amazon is, reportedly, looking to build a huge €60m delivery warehouse in Dublin to speed up delivery rates to its Irish-based customers and bypass any lingering Brexit supply chain delays.

‘Amazon fatigue’

Sitecore, however, feels ‘Amazon fatigue’ could be setting in with Irish shoppers. Survey respondents said a desire to support independent retailers, better choices elsewhere and perceptions of poor employment practices at Amazon could tempt them to move to other retailers.

"There is an opportunity, here, for digital retailers to expand their share of the market but it won’t be an easy win,” said Sitecore chief marketing officer Paige O’Neill. 

“They’ll need to offer comparable levels of service and personalisation throughout the customer journey to topple the retail giant’s stronghold,” she said.

Even as non-essential shops are reopening, there are lingering concerns for the long-term future of Irish retail.

Ibec group Retail Ireland expects Irish consumers to spend more than €3bn on debit and credit cards in shops over the next month, resulting in €800m more being taken at the tills than during the same period last year.

But, it wants Government supports for vulnerable businesses to continue, saying challenges around rents and debt remain.