3.Web Design Analysis
By comparing the early-stage home page design, it is undeniable that Amazon has indeed making great progress of their web design. Presenting more pictures will help to improve the readability and inspire customer’s desire of shopping. Firstly, key area was used to promote their latest discounts and offers during the sales season which will catch users’ attention from the first section. Normally there will be personalised shopping inspiration section (which will be discussed later). However, according to Smith (2014), more than 44% buyers just directly search the product they need without take a look at those offers in the homepage. This result probably explains the reason why Amazon has moved the search bar to the most eye-catching place; Secondly, on the product page, there will be detailed manufacturer product information and customer reviews, apart from this, they offer the features like Look or Search Inside the Book for many books; Thirdly, 1-Click® technology and secure payment systems are designed to enhance their marketing strategies; Finally, the speedy delivery and convenient return policy, as long as the guarantee provided that customer service team will get in touch within 48 hours to solve customers’ queries will definitely enhance their customer satisfaction.
3.1 Fast-load Web Pages
‘Amazon continues to innovate in its quest to be the world’s most customer-centric company’ (Chaffey, 2011). Sergio (2009) suggests that page speed plays a
Amazon.com operates in the Online Retail Industry. The sector is one of the fastest growing globally and is outperforming the ordinary retail marketplace. It was created after 1995 and it was only the Internet that made it possible for such an industry not only to be established but to become one of the most flourishing sectors in the business environment. What is interesting is that Amazon.com, together with eBay is the pioneer in the field. Both companies were launched in 1995 and are still extremely successful. The creation of e-mail in 1996 had a huge impact on the development of online retail by introducing a fast and easy way to communicate with customers. For this two-year period Internet usage
Amazon understood firsthand that the competitive advantage of a company originates immediately from how distinctive the organization's resources and competencies are. Amazon is able to both engage in production at a lower cost and generate a superior product at a standard cost. This is accomplished mostly via Amazon's strategy of having a wide variety of goods and competitive pricing. Customers know they can find basic products at slashed prices or high quality goods at standard prices and this is all achieved via the enormous range of products and product brands and types available on their massive marketplace. For example, the depiction displayed in the case study which shows how growth was related directly to: lower cost structure- lower prices customer experience traffic sellers -selection and convenience. While this is a grave oversimplification of the Amazon business model, it demonstrates how many aspects of the strategy reinforced one another.
Also, Amazon has emphasized on building “several distribution centers around the world to hasten deliveries”(Hof and Himelstein, 1999). Coupled with its software it provides a “laser-like focus on the buying experience”(IT Business Edge, 2012). Such a system and service is what draws customers towards Amazon and subsequently retains them.
Amazon can benefit from lower transaction costs. In the past, many firms did not want to price discriminate because it was time consuming, difficult and expensive to collect information about how each customer reacts to a change in price. However, recent advances in computer technology have pushed the transaction costs
Amazon has earned a great reputation in customer service for allowing customers to shop without face to face, avoiding talking to a customer’s service representative agent on the phone, everything it done online. Sales clerk does not exist, everything is ordered with a click of the mouse, and arrives extremenely quick in the mail (Cohen, 2009). Amazon at interval has gotten involved with the customers when they can have too. According to Green, H. (2009), “Amazon stands out most markedly from other companies, and helps explain how the company earned the No. 1 spot on Business Week’s customer service ranking this year”( para. 1).
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 focuses on global reach, putting customer first,, and extensive selection of products through its vision which is “To be Earth’s most customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover anything they might want to buy online” (Gregory 2016).
Neil Irwin of The New York Times writes of Amazon: “The online retailer is on a collision course with Walmart to try to be the predominant seller of pretty much everything you buy. Each one is trying to become more like the other — Walmart by investing heavily in technology, Amazon by opening physical bookstores and now buying physical supermarkets.” Something similar, says Irwin, is happening in “nearly every major industry,” benefiting “the biggest and best-run organizations, to the detriment of upstarts and second-fiddle players.”
Many consumers go for what appears to be cheapest and most convenient. The reality is, Amazon’s increasing dominance comes with high costs. “These consequences have gone largely unnoticed thanks to Amazon’s remarkable invisibility and the way its tentacles have quietly extended their reach” (LaVecchia, 2016). It is vital that consumers are aware of this superpower that is taking over.
Amazon stated its marketing approach in its 2011 annual report as “we direct customers to our websites primarily through a number of targeted online marketing channels, such as our associated program, sponsored search, portal advertising, email marketing campaigns, and other initiatives.”(Petro, 2017). Being the leader of the ecommerce industry, Amazon maintains that
With the advent of the information technology, specifically the internet, it is said that more and more companies are existing in the online world. The changes in the business market also allows customers to change and become more dependent on online stores and online shopping than go and find something in shopping malls or retail store. One of the existing and considered as the largest and competitive online shopping in the world is Amazon. In this report, the goal is to analyse Amazon based on the case study provided. The analysis includes the discussion of Amazon’s s strategic intent, main resources and capabilities. In addition, this will also include analysis of the resources and capabilities that give
Amazon’s core competencies are in its ability to effectively use and develop technology to drive site traffic and enhance the customer experience. Their distinctive use of website real estate coupled with their ability to leverage their brand and effectively use that leverage to deliver low prices and high quality products, makes them a leader in online retailing. Their partner brands and their ability to adapt and recognize deficiencies enable them to effectively cut out the middle man, or at the very least, partner with them.
Amazon has grown rapidly since their inception. The company experienced a surge is sales of 313% until 1998, supported by 8.4 million customer accounts in over 150 countries, of
While Amazon faces many issues in a rapidly changing economic, political and global environment, this paper will focus on how Amazon can increase loyalty among its customers and continue to differentiate
About 30% of web visitors said they’d wait 6-10 seconds for a page to load, but many others gave shorter time spans, with 3% saying they’d only wait one second before abandoning a page. With speeds impacting your bottom line, you have to look at everything, including your hosting company.