Did you know college students spend on average $2,000 a year on non-textbook related purchases?
As young adults transition from home to college to establish their identities and habits for adulthood, retailers Target and Amazon are forging their way across campuses throughout the US with easy on-site student access to their brands.
As discussed in Fortune's October 12 article, Amazon is using its "disruptor" business model with an aggressive plan to open same day order / pick-up kiosks across sixteen college campuses serving a population of over 500,000 students, by the end of 2016.
What's the hook Amazon is using you may be thinking? Discounted Amazon Prime pricing of $49.00 vs $99.00. In addition to same day service, students receive all of the additional benefits of Amazon Prime including streaming media, unlimited reading offerings, and much much more.
Target, on the other hand, will forge ahead with its plans to open thirteen 20,000 square foot stores with assortments focused on everyday basics to dorm room needs. Much success has been reported from current Target campus based stores that are already open, but the race is on.
Because Amazon can be fast and flexible (not tied to investing in physical store locations) along with their disruptor mentality, the race to capture students directly on campus (quickly) seems to favor Amazon.
Enjoy - DC