Saturday, January 18, 2014

Amazon will send you things before you order them

In their non ending quest to be the only place you buy stuff from, Amazon is always looking to improve the time it takes for you to get the stuff you ordered. That is why they have boxes set up for you to receive stuff from them and in some places they are toying with the idea of 4-hour deliveries. That's why they are planning to drone your stuff to you.
Well, in the next logical step in the race to get stuff to you faster, Amazon has decided to skip you altogether. Your order, that is. Amazon has decided that one day, it'll just ship stuff to you before you order them. Amazon will just know what you need and ship it to you. Women, be prepared to be creeped out when you get from them the heavy, non-wing, maxi sanitary pads on the day before you start monthly periods. Or a new set of your favorite mascara the day you run out. Men won't be left out. You'll get the bar of soap and fresh undies thrown in with your next order because Amazon knows you're running out. Yes men, Amazon is now your mother.
Now, how will it know what you need is another matter altogether. Amazon hasn't patented mind reading yet so that's some thing to look out for. Knowing Amazon, it'll probably start with looking at your purchase history, what you buy and how often. So it'll know the right shampoo to send and look at how long it took between purchases to figure out when to send it. Then, it'll move on to your social media sites. Soon you'll receive packs of condoms in the mail just because of those risqué messages you're sending out to that special someone. Which should make an interesting discussion with your spouse.

Amazon Patents “Anticipatory” Shipping — To Start Sending Stuff Before You’ve Bought It http://techcrunch.com/2014/01/18/amazon-pre-ships/