Remember a few weeks ago when I predicted that Amazon Autos would eventually screw over all of their dealership partners and find a way to work directly with auto manufacturers?
Well, after making that prediction, a bunch of automotive industry folk belittled my opinions about the disaster that's taking shape to their industry in front of our eyes. According to them, I'm not qualified to speak on the subject because I haven't spent the past 20 years working out of a cubicle making recurring trips to my manager's office to have fake meetings about pricing.
That's because I've spent the past two decades becoming an expert in my own arena — e-commerce — which has qualified me to predict with confidence that it's only a matter of time before Amazon does the same thing to automotive dealers that it has to book publishers, toy retailers, logistics providers, and every other partner it's eaten up and spit out.
Ready for a recent example?
ADWEEK reports that Amazon is pulling away from its tech and agency partners and pushing advertisers to work directly with its ad platform.
Amazon launched its Ad Partner Network in 2021, encouraging agencies that manage ad spend on its marketplaces to build ad-buying tools and onboard new advertisers to its platform. But now Amazon has begun rolling out new AI powered tools that overlap with products built by its partners and in some cases is bypassing those partners altogether to work directly with the advertisers.
Well, well, well… who could've seen that coming?
Tell me how that's any different than what will happen with automotive dealers? The formula is exactly the same…
- Partner with Amazon for short term gain
- Amazon builds a new vertical on the backs of its partners
- Amazon becomes a market leader in said vertical
- Amazon no longer needs its partners
Amazon told ADWEEK that is partners “are integral to Amazon Ads, providing expertise, impactful products, and strategic guidance that help unlock performance and deliver better outcomes for advertisers.” This statement comes after the company announced last month that it would begin charging those “integral” partners for access to its Selling Partner API.
Partner, build new vertical, become market leader, abandon partners.
It’s only a matter of time before Amazon applies this exact same playbook to the automotive industry. But what do I know, right?