Amazon Effect? an Analysis of User-Generated Content on Consumer Electronics Retailers’ Facebook Pages

Abstract

This working paper aims at exploring the so-called “Amazon effect” in consumer electronics retail industry, and specifically the impact Amazon has generated in terms of consumers’ expectations when consumers buy (or willing to buy) these type of products. The paper reviews the meaning of Amazon effect (or Amazonification) in different fields of study, and then focuses on the escalation of customer expectations towards retailers. A content analysis of users’ comments drawn from Facebook pages of three leading consumer electronics retailers in Italy across a two-year span (2016-2018) serves to evaluate the relevance of different customer expectations. The preliminary findings show that consumers’ conversations related to “Amazon effect” seem widely diffused on consumer electronics retailers, especially regarding effectiveness of customer service, online purchasing experience, and fast delivery times. The paper argues the need for further research to better disentangle the Amazonification concept in terms of customer impatience, also going beyond price and logistics issues, usually considered as the main constitutive factors.