Amazon : An Innovative Product Or Service

Amazon’s database holds a lot of important information and with having all of this information there can be security issues. Amazon tries to secure all of the information that comes through their system because not only do they encrypt the credit card information of individuals but Amazon allows the individual to encrypt every piece of information that they put into Amazon’s system (Layton, 1998-2014). Amazon employs Netscape Secure commerce Server using the secure socket layer protocol (Layton, 1998-2014). Amazon does not store their credit card information in the same database as all of their other information. Amazon has it that if customers do not like to put in their credit card online that the can put some of the credit card number online and then call and speak to a representative to give them the rest of the credit card number. A secure feature that Amazon has for their credit card information it that the database that holds all of the credit card information is not internet accessible stopping any hackers from getting individuals information. Amazon wants to ensure that all of their credit card information is protected due to the amount of

In 1999, Amazon became a merchant platform by introducing zShop, “a new service that allows anyone to sell merchandise through its website”. (Moore, 1999) It not only creates extra revenue from the $9.99 monthly subscription fee from sellers but also “60 cents per transaction for payments made with 1-Click, as well as 4.75 percent of the final sale”. (Moore, 1999)

Amazon.com has successfully managed to make its customers to feel that anything they could possibly want could be found on their website. Additionally, its products are marketed at a competitive price. Another important factor is their speedy delivery with their usage of UPS and FedEx (United States) and Royal Mail (United Kingdom). The company also caters for people that prefer online shopping with extra services such as Amazon Prime - a service with a yearly payment, customers are eligible for free next day delivery. Even though Amazon.com is known to be an online seller of most things, it still excels in its original market of book selling. Evidence of such is

Amazon is using different operating models to provide products and service to customers. There are three distinct models that Amazon.com offers, each with a different supply chain. The three models are Amazon.com as seller, Amazon.com as intermediary, and Amazon.com as full-service e- commerce provider.

Mobile payments are defined as payment services operated under financial regulation and performed from or via a mobile device, namely a cell phone. The use of mobile payment is a substitute for traditional forms of payments. The idea to use non-coin-based currency systems has been developing for years yet it is only now becoming popular. Nowadays, most phones are produced from three or four companies due to economies of scale. This has meant that having five or six mobile payment apps is feasible and profitable due to network effects. If there were a hundred mobile payment apps, less people would use them because it is likely that no two people will have the same app, and thus it cannot be used for

cards because of the new technology such as Bluetooth, RFID, infrared or NFC. This means that

NFC technology is required to use digital wallet credit card payments for purchases at the check-out counter or for online purchase. There is a passive tag in your credit card that is activated when it comes within 10cm of an NFC initiator device. The NFC initiator is the POS (point of sale) or check-out counter card reader in the store. Most smart phones use NFC so your phone can act as your credit card as soon as you set it up and store the information from your card. Once your phone is set up, all you need to do is hold your phone within 10cm of the same card reader at the store and it will pay for the purchase just like your card.

Amazon.com has been a great resource for online shopping. The popularity of Amazon.com has grown over the last 21 years and continues to offer new innovations that lead to the company’s continuous success. Amazon offers most products held in stores usually at a lower price. Over the years, Amazon has become the go-to site for shopping. Amazon prime with free 2-day shipping has made it convenient to shop from the comfort of your home, with a guarantee on when the items will be delivered. Amazon.com is one of the leading online retail websites around the globe. Amazon.com was founded in July 1994 by Jeff Bezos in Seattle, Washington and strives to be “the most customer centric company where people can find and discover virtually anything they want to buy online” (amazon.com). The website started in 1995 with only one target market in mind, book lovers. Jeff Bezos wanted a place for book lovers to browse millions of books in one convenient place. The company was a huge success just after 30 days, fulfilling orders in all 50 states and 45 countries around the world. Amazon.com’s warehouse started in a Seattle-area garage. Now, “Amazon operates retail websites and offers platforms that enable third party sellers to sell their products on the Amazon.com website” (amazon.com). Amazon has grown so much in the past 20 years with warehouses in 18 states and 15 countries. The wide range of services and goods lead to the company’s success. Some of

It was determined that a credit card reader and mobile application would be a good fit for CPCU by researching the current options, the Canadian market, and if there is a need. First, the most known credit card reader was looked at. This would be Square and it currently operates in Canada, Japan, Australia, and United States (Square Office Locations, n.d.). According to Cocotas (2012) in 2012, Square revealed that it was processing payments totaling roughly $11 million a day, a $2 billion increase from the previous year.

Retailers have adapted to the online marketplace out of necessity and opportunity. The great recession placed many retail companies in financial hardship and while some failed, others innovated and became some of the largest companies in America such as Amazon. A recent trend is consumers are buying more products online than ever before. As a consumer, I enjoy shopping in the convenience of my home and having the items delivered to my doorstep in 48 hours or less. Global internet access continues to increase, with mobile devices and affordable internet for the home, consumers will continue to shift and buy products online rather than in retail brick and mortar locations. Online sales in the United States have increased over 250% in the last ten years, accomplishing $250.0 billion in 2012 (Tehrani, 2014). Therefore, Amazon is in a solid market position to capitalize on the future trends and booming ecommerce

Tap your phone to pay and redeem offers, using NFC (near-field communication). NFC payments are currently only available in the United States.

Introduction: Apple Pay is similar to other contactless payments already being used since 2011 when Research In Motion was certified by MasterCard Worldwide. Though it’s gaining users, at present only about 14% of US households have linked a card to Apple Pay, increased just a few percentage from the 11% the company reported at the beginning of 2015. Although Apple has managed to get a big portion of major retail and restaurant chains to integrate Apple Pay method, it’s the small businesses and regional markets that contributes to the significant number of purchases, which means in order to impact the global payment method and make this innovation the future, Apple needs to work with both the customers and the global businesses and facilitate the establishment of the infrastructure that will make it easier to use it in daily basis.

introduced a mobile credit card reader and mobile wallet, PayPal did not hesitate to imitate its

Though issues like “Never thought about it” can be addressed by awareness and marketing the benefits of mobile payment, the others need to be worked out with better solutions and implementations. Though Apple Pay has sort of revamped the mobile payment sector, it isn’t the first and only mobile payment option out there. Google Wallet and Paypal, the old contenders, are still going strong and are very much in the game. The competition is tough and add to that the fact that at least 37% of the populace still think cash and card transactions are much easier to deal with. To win their vote, it’s going to have to get real easy and a one click checkout mobile payment option is as easy as it can ever get.

Innovation is a more effective and efficient way of performing tasks. It is not an invention but rather, using a current model and simplifying it to enhance the overall experience of its users. Furthermore, it can eliminate existing problems issues that the users are facing. As there are more than 6 billion mobile subscriptions worldwide, countries all around the world are embracing mobile phone payments. While developed countries are embracing this new technology, as mobile coverage and connectivity rate is high, developed countries are also adopting the practice, as it does not only rely on Internet access.