Amazon Has Tried Everything to Make Shopping Easier. Except This.

Much of the discussion about Amazon is focused on its digital side, yet the company is relentlessly expanding into the physical.

It has announced five new United States warehouses since late December, all with more than a million square feet. It is testing out delivery lockers in New York and Seattle for those who cannot receive their goods at home. It has been experimenting with a grocery delivery service in Seattle for several years. It has expanded its Prime $79 annual shipping fee program, hoping members will order more of everything. In all sorts of ways Amazon is trying to remove the obstacles from home delivery. Does anyone remember how mail order once meant getting things a month later? Now Amazon thinks two days is too long. One major reason the retailer seems to be giving up its hard-line position on charging customers sales taxes is that it wants to build its warehouses close to major population centers. If it does that, it cannot argue that it is exempt from collecting state taxes because it lacks a physical presence in a state. But the increased business from faster delivery might be a worthwhile trade-off to charging the tax.