Amazon Evolution Paper

BIS/219

Instructor: Mark Damron

University of Phoenix

Founded in 1994 by Jeffrey Bezos, Amazon is a fortune 500 e-commerce company. With over 600 million visitors annually, Amazon has secured its place in the .com world. Amazon began as an online bookstore, allowing their customers more choices than their store based counterparts. Realizing their potential, Amazon quickly expanded their options to other retail goods. The move to being a more than just an online book store has served Amazon well; in 2001 they posted $5 million in profits.

In a fast paced world, you have to constantly evolve to keep up. Amazon has done just that. Though their roots started with books, they have evolved into selling “clothing, gourmet food, watches, jewelry, baby products and apparel, beauty products, sporting goods, music CD’s, DVD’s, video tapes, home appliances and electronics and so much more” (webhostingreport.com, 2009-2010). Having an online store allows to reach millions of customers anytime anywhere.

There are some draw backs about online shopping though. Shopping online means you have to wait for your product to be shipped and you can’t try something on before buying. However, with gas prices being so high right now, many shoppers would rather save the money on gas, and forgo the instant gratification of having their product right away. Amazon provides customers with saving on products as well. Furthermore, customers do not have to waste time and gas driving from store to store to find what they are looking for.

Has Amazon gotten away from its core competency of being a leading online retailer? The answer is no! In 2010 CBS news reported that “Amazon.com Inc. said Thursday its fourth-quarter earnings skyrocketed 71 percent, as shoppers spent more than ever during the holiday season - a time that was somewhat brighter this year than last for retailers on and off the Web” ( CBS Interactive Inc, 2011).

References

CBS Interactive Inc. (2011). CBS News....