"Much easier than before" or "much easier than at Walmart"? I buy the former, but I doubt that many of the cash-only customers shopping at Walmart live in locations or lead lifestyles conducive to receiving regular package deliveries easily. I'm skeptical that payment logistics are their biggest barrier to Amazon shopping.

I suspect many of us on HN have a distorted view of how hassle-free online shopping is because we live in buildings or neighborhoods where packages can be left without signature with a high probability of making it to us and many of us have the luxury of working from home on the odd day when we need to sign for an expected delivery.

I live in a tenement house with no doorman in a neighborhood where package theft can be an issue, and usually get my packages at work.

But it's easier to get packages near home now that UPS (at least here in NYC) just rolled out the 'Access Point' program where one can get their packages delivered to local grocery stores, bodegas, etc. for free. You just bring in an ID and pick up the package.

> I suspect many of us on HN have a distorted view of how hassle-free online shopping is because we live in buildings or neighborhoods where packages can be left without signature

That's what Amazon Locker is for. Not sure how widespread this is though.

I view this less as Amazon competing directly with Walmart than a Safeway or CVS using Amazon to provide more value to its current customer base.

> That's what Amazon Locker is for.

Not sure if it's 100% accurate, but as an example, there doesn't seem to be a single Amazon locker location in the entire state of Mississippi according to Google Maps.

I just went to Amazon's locker search and plugged in the zip code for the state capitol and the Jackson, MS city hall (largest city in MS) - no results for either. I wonder why they're ignoring the state? We've got lockers in the semi-rural part of Pennsylvania I live in.

Absolutely. Much easier to shop at Amazon than before. They still have a long way to go to compete with Walmart in this area. Just pointing out the target audience for this change.

Wow, that's very presumptive of you.

I lived for several years without a bank account and throughout that time I always had a home and a shipping address. Millions of people in the US don't have bank accounts. Not because they are vagrants or homeless but simply because they live too close to the margins to afford the potential economic chaos that having a bank account can cause.

Unbanked use prepaid visa cards to purchase things online. This just gets rid of the "tax" incurred when buying prepaid visa cards. Stat that would be interesting to see is smart phone penetration into this group of people.

Also unbanked can purchase amazon gift cards with cash.

I don't know about the US but here in the U.K. prepaid credit cards have all but disappeared.

They are growing really fast in the USA, mostly because the banking system here takes advantage of people much more than the banking system in the UK. Prepaid cards give people control over their financial lives, they are expensive but cheaper than overdraft fees and expensive credit lines. Growth is coming from younger demographics, so I'd say likely to keep coming: http://www.businessinsider.com/the-rise-of-reloadable-prepai...

There is a current growth due to fintech startups like monzo, who are using prepaid cards to test the market

No, people without banks currently buy amazon gift cards and shop at amazon anyway. This is just saving them the effort of typing in the gift card code.