Since its inception, Amazon has continuously made business innovations which are driven by huge investment in Information System and Technology to become one of the largest internet retailers in the world. The company has taken advantage of opportunities created by the internet, by setting up a powerful website to sell books and other products directly to customers online. The digital bookstore created by Amazon has revolutionized the bookselling industry, emerging as the most preferred market place for books.
Amazon does not maintain a physical inventory of books and other products that it offers for sales. Instead, the company relies on a network of distributor and business associate to maintain the stock inventory. This enables the company to sell books at a low cost than other physical bookstore. This is because the company does not have to spend money on stock maintenance and large number of staff. The company has continued to invest in technology that provide the most satisfying and personalized experience for millions of its customers. This include fully automated recommendation search engine which replaced lists generated by human. The technology also enables Amazon to captures customer comments and gives recommendations to those who buy books through its website. In addition, the company monitors visitor traffic on its website and collect important data like the number of people visiting the site, the web pages they explored, time spent on the website, and the link which directed them to Amazon website. This information is used in evaluating buying patterns and customer preference.
In order to give value and retain customers, Amazon provides superior customer services backed up by technology. This includes personalized recommendations, automated order system, online customer review, online tracking and shipping and ability to find products and pay with a single click. Recently the company introduced Amazon.com Marketplace where customer and third party can sell used books and other items. This has helped to extend Amazon visibility on the Internet making it a household brand where customers can find everything they want.
Amazon can make use of public digital kiosks to improve its business. The kiosk will provide interactive browsing hence allowing customer to easily search for products on its website. The kiosk should include simple navigation tools which can be used by everyone, every time. This way, customers can quickly find the products they are looking for, compare prices, purchase and track the shipping. The kiosk will also allow those people who don’t have computer and/or internet connection to buy and sell online.
Amazon is the leading and the largest online retailer in the world. The company has continuously used technological innovation since it was started in 1994, hence revamping the bookselling industry and E-business in general. Amazon use technology in all aspects of its operation including sales, inventory management, ordering, tracking and customer service. The company has allowed other company to integrate their website to that of Amazon hence extending the company’s visibility on the internet. Amazon could improve its business by introducing digital kiosks which allow customers to search, buy and tracks their order easily.