Last year, Amazon announced plans to enter APAC, whilst at the very same time opening their first bricks and mortar ‘cashless’ shopfront.

This is a boldly innovative pivot, as well as a well thought-through strategy, that no doubt ensures its brand will continue to grow and remain relevant in years to come.

As was to be expected, retailers across APAC collectively shuddered when the news broke that Amazon would be entering Singapore and Australia in coming months. And whilst many sighed with relief when Amazon postponed its Singapore launch, the US e-commerce giant is clearly still on its way as it has started recruiting key staff for its Australian operations. Fact is, like it or not, Amazon is coming.

Somewhat interestingly, what few are saying about Amazon’s entry into APAC is the uncomfortable truth that Amazon launching in this region is a good thing…though not for everyone. Looking at it from an Australian perspective, earlier this year Gizmodo reported that Myer, Harvey Norman, JB Hi-Fi, Supercheap Auto, Big W, Kmart and Target are all tipped to see revenues smashed by as much as 55 per cent over the next five years. Whether or not that occurs has yet to be seen.

But for the remainder of the market there’s genuine opportunity to be had.

Amazon’s arrival will do the one thing every retail sector across APAC needs: it will encourage more consumers to start shopping online, and shopping more often. And so, while retailers at the top end of town may well continue to wage their PR war on Amazon, everyone else would benefit by embracing its arrival, because Amazon launching across APAC is good news for several reasons.

First, from the consumer’s perspective, it will boost confidence in transacting online – because let’s face it – everyone knows and trusts Amazon. This means we’ll soon have more people spending money online, and that’s a good thing because that Amazon-fuelled consumer confidence will spill across the entire online retail sector – that money will move beyond Amazon. And this is where marketers benefit.

Internet Retailer estimates e-commerce sales accounted for 11.7 per cent of total retail sales in the US in 2016, which is just ahead of the 10.2 per cent of all retail sales in APAC, but which is almost double the online retail spend in Australia which sits a paltry 6.8 per cent of total sales.

If Amazon encourages more consumers to shop online, and if APAC’s online retail sector grows in line with this, that’s a huge amount of consumer money becoming accessible across digital channels, and every marketer and retailer knows consumers are easier to reach and connect with in the digital sphere.

So, sure, it’s more than a little scary that in the US Amazon is a big hairy gorilla that accounted for 43 per cent of US online retail sales last year, but that doesn’t mean we should pack up and go home just because there’s a bigger kid coming onto the playground. Quite the opposite.

If the retail sector opens its arms to Amazon – rather than ranting and raving to little or no effect – consumer confidence will rise, online sales will flourish, and the pie gets bigger. It’s win-win-win.

This topic and other big issues facing retailers will be tackled at the iMedia Brand Summit Southeast Asia in Phuket from August 14-16. For more information, click here.