Amazon, founded in 1994, is a Fortune 500 e-commerce company based in the United States. It is among the very first companies to sell online. It started off with just selling books, but now sells almost everything including clothing, electronics counting up to over 480 million products. Amazon claims to always put their customers first and follow a customer-centered strategy.
According to an article published on Forbes (2017), the competitive advantage of any company in today’s world is considered the extent to which the company is adaptive. Keeping up with the trends is the most important factor in any company’s success. In case of Amazon, it has pretty much always worked on this strategy. Expanding even in the first year of its launch, it has been growing ever since and there’s no end to it. If there is anything trending in terms of fashion, technology or innovation, it will most definitely be available on Amazon in all shapes, sizes, and prices.
The company which started off with only selling books has grown each day and now sells almost everything that anyone would need. Providing convenience of shopping to its customers, by providing all they need on one website and by delivering the products to their doorstep, Amazon delivers its promise of serving their customers according to their needs.
Amazon has achieved its position in the online retail market due to various factors and they all come under the fact that Amazon has constantly adapted to the needs of the customers. Firstly, they constantly keep on building warehouses and distribution centers all over the US. This helps them deliver the products to their customers instantly and thus helps in growth of the company. Secondly, Amazon keeps on expanding by mergers with other big brands. These mergers help in expanding the product portfolio of Amazon and eventually contribute towards the overall growth of the company. Moreover, the ever increasing number of sellers or merchants on Amazon increases the number of buyers as well. Thirdly, it caters to everyone because of the availability of products in every quality and price. This has helped them build up a wide customer base and has always catered to the masses.
Another important factor in any company’s success is that the competitive advantage should be sustainable. Sustainability cannot be ignored in today’s world and considering the strategies of Amazon, it has always worked towards achieving sustainability. With their main focus on adaptability, Amazon is expected to always work towards sustainability and this is the reason that no other competitor has been able to achieve the kind of position that Amazon has been holding onto for years now. Despite multiple competitors available in the market and new ones entering the online retail market, Amazon still remains their leader. Along with that, Amazon also works on other projects that help them contribute towards saving and sustainability of natural environment.
References
Boss, J. (2017, June 20). Amazon’s Competitive Advantage Isn’t Cost Or Convenience, It’s This. Retrieved December 17, 2017, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffboss/2017/06/20/amazons-competitive-advantage-isnt-cost-or-convenience-its-this/#197991b74958
Hyken, S. (2017, August 7). How Amazon Competes Against Walmart And Every Other Retailer. Retrieved December 17, 2017, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/shephyken/2017/08/05/how-amazon-competes-against-walmart-and-every-other-retailer/#601925ef6de8
Schneider, L. Understanding Amazon.com’s History and Corporate Culture. Retrieved December 17, 2017, from https://www.thebalance.com/amazon-com-company-research-2071316