Neither Amazon nor Mercadona: The Future of Food Retail Is ‘Amaz-ona’.

Thomas loves cheese and wine. He buys them here and there. “Here” is his neighborhood supermarket, and “there” is a virtual supermarket with a vast product assortment: Amazon. There are millions of people just like Thomas: commercially promiscuous shoppers who source their weekly groceries from a combination of physical and online stores. Can a traditional supermarket in any country compete with a retailer like Amazon? Who will win the battle?

We analyzed the last few annual financial reports from companies in various geographical areas. Some of these companies—like Carrefour and Dia—were more international, while others—like El Corte Inglés, Mercadona, and Eroski—were more local, and each had a different retail value proposition. We then compared the results of this analysis with data from Amazon, which offers a very different range of products and is making forays into the grocery sector. Our conclusion: no matter which country Amazon was competing in and which companies we compared it to, the key factor was not geography but business vision. The future of food retail will be Amaz-ona: a hybrid of Amazon and Mercadona. Why? Because the key is to develop clear proposals and offer more—not fewer—channels.

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