Amazon was established by Jeff Bezos in 1995 as an online bookseller. Since then, it has evolved into a global e-commerce company, virtually realizing Bezos’s intention of selling everything to everyone. Beginning with shipping books, Amazon currently sells every product, starting with A to Z, as the company’s logo indicates (Garner, 2018). This paper aims to discuss why Amazon has managed to succeed online while many other companies failed.
The first reason for Amazon’s success is its constant innovation efforts. The company is continuously doing marketing research to identify unmet customer needs and develop new technologies to offer unique products to the market (Garner, 2018). For example, Amazon has developed Amazon MP3, which successfully competed with Apple’s iTunes, and the Kindle, a branded electronic book quickly delivering a great variety of books and magazines. In addition, the company invests in technology to make online shopping easier and faster, which contributes to customer loyalty and satisfaction.
The second reason for the company’s online success is its competitive advantage in terms of price and service. Lower prices and better service result from Amazon’s great relationships with vendors, distributors, and other services (Garner, 2018). For example, in 2013, the company partnered with the US Postal Service to be able to deliver goods on Sundays. Amazon’s lower prices can be discouraging for investors, but the company puts customers’ interests first. Lower prices ensure customer satisfaction and loyalty and allow for selling large volumes of goods.
Finally, when Amazon expanded globally, it adapted to different cultures to better meet specific customer needs. For example, Amazon has developed a creative solution to promoting online shopping in India, where only 35% of the population had Internet access (Garner, 2018). The company sent mobile Chai Carts to India, which attracted people’s attention and explained to them the advantages of e-commerce. Thus, Amazon’s success is attributed to its putting customers’ interests first, building relationships with vendors and distributors, and willingness to innovate.
Reference
Garner, B. A. (2018). Amazon in the global market. Journal of Marketing and Management, 9(2), 63-73.