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Will package delivery to Serbia become faster and cheaper? What's behind news about Amazon's arrival

"It would be logical that bringing distribution closer to the end customer and Amazon's direct presence would bring benefits to end customers, ease conditions, possibly reduce delivery costs," our interlocutors say

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Amazon, kupovna preko interneta

Photo: Shutterstock

After the confusion that arose when free shipping was abolished and the minimum price set for the delivery of packages through a Chinese retailer, the news that another online giant was interested in the Balkans made many happy. However, we checked with the relevant ministry how far Serbia is from that now, and what the arrival of Amazon in this area would actually mean for our citizens.

There have been reports in the region for days that the world's largest internet retailer has arrived in Croatia. It turned out that Amazon did not come there in the classic sense of the word, because it did not build its logistics center or open a local online store with a ".hr" domain; instead the company confirmed that it had entered into a partnership with the Croatian Post, which could significantly facilitate, speed up and lower costs of delivery. But not necessarily.

How could a center in the neighborhood become the center of distribution of Amazon products in the entire region, and can consumers in Serbia benefit from that?

"Amazon did not arrive in Croatia, but it did sign a contract with the Post there, which will enable faster and easier delivery of their packages. Amazon products have been available to Croatian residents for years, but until now they were delivered from Amazon's distribution center in Germany," sources from the Ministry of Tourism and Telecommunications explained for Telegraf Biznis.

Due to the lack of official and precise information at this moment, it is really hard to say in advance whether there will be benefits for consumers in Serbia as well, they stressed.

"In any case, the arrival of such a renowned global e-commerce industry leader like Amazon in our region is really positive news," the ministry further assessed.

Although Amazon did not want to reveal whether they plan to open a local store at Amazon.hr, which is probably the long-term plan, this partnership could mean slightly cheaper shipping costs for all Croatian and regional customers.

"This is certainly a great incentive for all vendors in Serbia and Croatia, as well as for the entire logistics infrastructure in the region, which is necessary for further development. It would be logical that bringing distribution closer to the end customer and Amazon's direct presence would bring benefits to end customers, ease conditions, possibly reduces delivery costs for Croatia, or other areas that Amazon will cover from Croatia," we have been told by the Ministry of Telecommunications.

Amazon, kupovna preko interneta

Photo: Shutterstock

It has been known for a long time that our country is working on bringing in the world's largest e-sellers, so Alabiba was announced in the past. The Ministry of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications, they recall, is taking all steps in order to develop the e-commerce market, raise standards and levels of development, which facilitate and accelerate the arrival of foreign giants such as Alibaba to the domestic e-commerce market.

amazon. hr or amazon.rs, what would that mean for us?

 

The fact is that the Balkan market is still small for a giant like Amazon. As much as it would be an incentive to develop an online store, the question is how small stores would adapt. We have witnessed the example of Black Friday shopping in Serbia - we are not yet used to online shopping being safer, easier, faster and cheaper.

The path that Amazon is taking should be viewed based on other countries, that is, the way it is expanding.

"Registration, or opening of that type, would mean a lot, with a lot of benefits, both reputation-wise but also concrete ones in getting closer to consumers (for example, the assumption is that delivery to the country would be enabled, given that many sellers on Amazon do not offer delivery to Serbia)," say our interlocutors.

"One should still keep in mind, however, that registering a local platform for giants like Amazon requires that the local market is large and developed enough. Just as an example, Amazon only opened in the Netherlands in March this year, and in Sweden only in the previous week," ministry representatives noted in a statement for our portal.

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(Telegraf Biznis)

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