WASHINGTON, D.C.–Ed Butt, 71, from Northern Michigan, and Wanda Borges, 67, from New York, said Amazon plays a vital role in their lives as far as supplying them with basic necessities such as home supplies and clothing.
Butt lives 45 minutes away from the nearest city in Michigan and believes it to be a hassle to have to drive a great distance to gather supplies when he could purchase the same items straight from his phone or laptop with just one click.
An Amazon prime member, Butt has used the online retailer approximately four or five times in the past two weeks and is happy with its services. He believes that Amazon’s two day shipping feature is a hard one to pass up especially with the location of his home in relation to the nearest city.
“I needed something quickly and there was no other way to get it other than to use Amazon,” Butt said.
On June 21, the US Supreme Court leveled the playing field for brick and mortar retailers and e-commerce businesses, as they overturned a ruling which enabled many online businesses to avoid collecting sales taxes from consumers, which may influence consumers’ decisions to opt for online shopping. Amazon’s shares slid 1.3 percent after the ruling.
While Amazon is very convenient, others like Laura Dehmlow, 36, said all those delivery trucks criss-crossing the country pollute, and she prefers shopping local.
“I definitely try to support local businesses,” said Dehmlow, who was walking to eat lunch in Tenleytown on Monday.
Borges generally uses Amazon daily to fulfill her needs.
She finds Amazon to be far more convenient than going shopping at a store especially with the amount of work she has to get through each day as an attorney.
Borges finds it far easier to buy in bulk while using Amazon which delivers items right to your door, rather than shopping for a multitude of items at a store and having many bags to carry around and risk leaving an item behind.
“I find it far more convenient than to go to a store especially since I am a workaholic,” Borges said.