Bezos’ advice might be less self-defeating than it sounds. Amazon’s game isn’t necessarily getting consumers to spend more of what they earn, but getting them to spend more of itE-commerce is only 14.5% of overall retail sales of some $1.8 trillion, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Meanwhile pure-play e-commerce companies that don’t have their roots in real-world stores represented 8% of retail sales in the second quarter compared to 5.7% in the second quarter in 2019, reckons UBS. In short, Amazon can grow even when retail doesn’t, meaning Bezos the billionaire can afford to be the unlikely voice of parsimony. Capital Calls - More concise insights on global finance: