Mission Impossible for a Small E-Commerce Business

Mission Impossible for a Small E-Commerce Business

BUS 365

Creativity & Innovation

“It is impossible for a small e-commerce business to compete for a one-on-one with Amazon.”

The online retail juggernaut Amazon has not always been the giant we see today. In its humble beginnings as an online bookseller in the 90’s. However, as we all know it quickly grew into one of, if not the biggest e-commerce company of today. When Amazon’s CEO Jeff Bezos’s founded Amazon, his saying was “get big fast,” and that is exactly what he managed to do (Editors, 2015). Amazon launched with selling books and now sells everything from A-Z as their logo suggests (Editors, 2015). Amazon has managed to supply everything and anything a consumer could want, and now Amazon has managed to expand its services even further on a subscription-based means as well as exceptional customer service.

The company finally reached its first profitable year in 2003 which lead to a huge eruption in the online market (Editors, 2015). Amazon has since gone on to launch Kindle Fire tablet, Kindle e-reader, subscription services, specialized marketplaces, original content, and began buying out many other large online retailers. By 2015 Amazon and Bezos had beat out Walmart as the largest and most beloved retailer and reached a market value of $250 billion (Editors, 2015). Amazon’s speed and quality have redefined the words ASAP. Consumers have become accustomed to low prices, next day, 2-day, even same day shipping, and an enormous selection causing the online retailer to beat out brick and mortar stores. Amazon has had staggering success around the world.

I assume that price is the driving force when customers are online shopping. I assume that customers shop with Amazon because they offer extra features through Amazon prime.

“I assume that customers research the products they want to purchase.” I assume that customers only purchase what they want when they want. I assume the customers will shop only with companies they know and trust. I assume that for companies to compete with Amazon, they have to be as significant.

“I assume that price is the driving force when customers are online shopping.” However, it is first impressions. No one wants to navigate through a hard to maneuver or ugly website. Moreover, more importantly, with the overabundance of rivals all vying for the same customers, no one wants to window-shop a lousy looking website. Your website is considered your first impression. While customers may find stores through a variety of different channels, once they arrive, it is all about keeping them captive until they make a purchase.

“I assume that customers research the products they want to purchase. “However, most customers actually make decisions based on product reviews by fellow customers. Some 88% say they trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations, and 39% read reviews regularly. In fact, only 12% of those surveyed do not read reviews at all.

“I assume that customers only purchase what they want when they want.” These are many main reasons consumers give for online shopping. You can see that convenience and price comparison are the main drivers. One of the reasons people cite most often for shopping online is that they can review and compare dozens of stores and products at once. Rather than having to travel from store to store or aisle to aisle, savvy online shoppers simply navigate from one web page to the next comparing the stores and the wares of those stores.

They search for reviews of your products. They compare price, quality and customer service — and they can do it all online.

It may not be whom you are looking for, but they are out there — bargain hunters. In fact, many shoppers use a hybrid shopping system where they visit a physical store to determine exactly what they want and then search online for better pricing. This is particularly true in categories, such as clothing, where the buyer wants to touch, feel and try on the product. They visit a physical store, find the exact product they want and head to the web to find the best price.

“I assume the customers will shop only with companies they know and trust.” Amazon’s booming success in the United States is not easily duplicated worldwide. American’s have grown accustomed to extremely high-quality service when it comes to traditional retail. Amazon has a massive part of the market as a global online retailer, yet Americans are impacted by the ‘Amazon Effect’ much more than other consumers in other parts of the world according to Forbes (Hartung, 2017). The retail market in the United States is volatile and constantly evolving in both brick and motor and online sales. This has caused a huge expansion of e-commerce which has become known as the ‘Amazon Effect’ (Rouse, 2017).

Amazon has single handedly changed the way we shop online. I have a neighbor who gets at least one package a week in an amazon box. You can now purchase anything from amazon. From food to sex toys, it’s crazy. If you cant find on their website it doesn’t exist.

References

Editors. (2015, November 4). Amazon Opens for Business. Retrieved November 28, 2018, from https://www.historv.com/this-dav-in-history/amazon-opens-for-business

Garner, B. A. (2018). Amazon in the Global Market. Journal of Marketing & Management, 9(2), 63–73. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.proxy-library.ashford.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bsh&AN=135820425&site=eds-live&scope=site

Puccio, G. J., Cabra, J. F., & Schwagler, N. (2018). Organizational creativity: A practical guide for innovators & entrepreneurs. Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu