Amazon grants teenagers online shopping rights albeit parental guidance
Contributor
In a push to increase retail traffic and earnings, Amazon.com Incorporated has just announced plans to allow kids between the ages of 13 and 17 to create their own login and account on the Amazon app, permitting them to shop or stream content under digital parental supervision.
Amazon in a statement Wednesday explained that if the parents are prime members, the teens can have individual access to most of the same benefits including movies, gaming through Twitch and free two-day shipping.
However to protect parents, Amazon ensures the parents get a text or email and approve each order their children want to make, or they can set pre-approved spending limits for more autonomy.
The development comes at a particularly tough time for physical retailers catering to teens. As more commerce moves online, foot traffic at malls has declined significantly, and the “mall rat,” (those teenagers who spend all their free time (and presumably their allowance), is becoming a thing of the past.
Opportunities existing in e-commerce have obviously made it difficult for traditional retailers to attract teen shoppers, who tend to have indecisive tastes and are notoriously unpredictable.
Analysts say by essentially establishing an online allowance, Amazon has found a way to lure in the next generation of consumers.
Just like any global fad, Nigerian teens may key into this opportunity being given by Amazon.
The adoption of e-commerce in Nigeria is on the increase as parents now encourage their children to get involved by buying phones online especially those in colleges and universities.
Though Nigeria’s consumer retail sector is burgeoning, investors had helped build an e-commerce, which is Africa’s biggest valued at $13 billion by some estimates and growing by 25 percent annually.
E-commerce startups in the country have raised tens of millions of dollars to expand and overcome infrastructure problems and logistical challenges in their attempt to convince more of the over 180 million Nigerians to shop online.