[dlwdlw]

Not saying it’s a good strategy but amazon seems to have done/is doing something similar. Each purchase is a loss when shipping is taken into account. But if the bleeding is slow enough the created ingress can be enough to shift the landscape so that there are new opportunities. Cultural lockin followed by price increases is a typical one.

Like the hub and spoke model of pizza shops. Basically bet that spoke opportunities will appear if the hub is engaging enough.

[scarface74]

Amazon has since stop losing money on shipping. Especially considering all of the money they make on Prime memberships.

[pbreit]

Amazon has pretty much always been margin positive even after shipping so not a good comparison.

[stuckinarut]

Amazon's losses to shipping can actually be lowered by improving logistics, alternative delivery systems, and negotiating better contracts because of the massive volume.

Plus I won't believe the "every purchase is a loss" narrative unless I see evidence. Especially recently.