Amazon's Impact on Brick-and-Mortar Sales

The struggles of brick-and-mortar retailers in 2017 have been well-documented. Iconic brands such as J.C. Penney, Macy's and Sears have all announced store closures this year, and other mall-based retailers such as The Limited, Wet Seal, and American Apparel have gone out of business. Why? A common reason cited is less in-store traffic, the result of more consumers going online to shop. And when you think e-commerce, most consumers think Amazon.com.
With that in mind, Total Retail surveyed its audience on their brick-and-mortar sales over the past years, segmented by B-to-C, B-to-B and hybrid (both B-to-C and B-to-B) retailers. The results, which were featured in the recent Total Retail and IBM report, The Amazon Effect: How Retailers Are Adapting Their Businesses to Better Compete With the Industry Leader, weren't surprising. In particular, B-to-C retailers’ brick-and-mortar sales seem to be most impacted by the growth of Amazon. See the chart below:
For 18 percent of B-to-C respondents, retail store sales have decreased by 5 percent or more during the past two years. Furthermore, an additional 13 percent of B-to-C retailers saw their sales decrease by 1 percent to 5 percent in the same time period. Interestingly, for B-to-B retailers, their brick-and-mortar store sales have actually increased by and large despite the looming threat of consumers opting to buy from Amazon. For these respondents, 21 percent said their sales have increased 5 percent or more over the last two years. And for 18 percent of B-to-B retailers, sales have increased 1 percent to 5 percent.
We’ll continue with our coverage of The Amazon Effect report next week. In the meantime, make sure to download the full report here.
Related story: Amazon Driving E-Commerce Sales for B-to-C, B-to-B Retailers
- Companies:
- Amazon.com

Joe Keenan is the executive editor of Total Retail. Joe has more than 10 years experience covering the retail industry, and enjoys profiling innovative companies and people in the space.