The author's views are entirely his or her own (excluding the unlikely event of hypnosis) and may not always reflect the views of Moz.
If you sell software, marketing services, or other goods to local business owners, it’s time to reconsider offering Amazon gift cards as incentives. According to ILSR’s 2022 survey of independent business owners[1]:
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65% of your customer base views Amazon’s market dominance as a challenge to the existence of their business
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70% want the government to either break up or regulate Amazon
When budget is allocated to increase sign-ups or improve retention with a douceur, we want recipients to feel intrigued, recognized, engaged, welcomed, and understood. It turns out there are much better ways to sweeten a deal than sending a gift card with a logo on it that stands for a threat to the livelihood of the community we want to serve. Quotes from survey participants indicate how hard they are struggling, and how forgotten they can feel:
“Hard to understand how the growth and survival of small businesses has taken such a back seat in both political parties over the years.”
“Make Amazon […] pay their taxes. I have to pay mine, they should pay theirs.”
“We frequently have the opportunity to bid on school district purchase orders, and we lose them when Amazon's prices undercut our margin.”
“Amazon is killing the independent office supply industry.”
“If our cities and towns lose small businesses, we lose essential and culturally significant institutions. If large retailers continue to … monopolize industries, we as individuals also lose the ability to make meaningful choices with our purchases.”
Clearly, with distress signals like these being emitted by the majority of the local business sector, the last thing that will make them feel championed is the sight