Online shopping makes the world go round. If you need something, no matter where you are, you have access to billions of items at your fingertips.
There are so many options to pick from online: Etsy, eBay, Wayfair and more. However, none of these options are as versatile and accessible as behemoth Amazon. Amazon is the most popular online retailer in the world, with over two billion shoppers monthly. Annually, Amazon makes $400 billion in e-commerce sales. While I don’t like the company, I do think Amazon is a dominating force in its market, completely wiping out competition like I’ve never seen before.
DePaul freshman, Kyla Albertz, explains her draw towards Amazon.
“I can find things that aren’t that easy to find in physical stores. The convenience and the range of products make it so popular. If I need something quick or I want to ship something as a gift they (Amazon) make it really easy.”
Buying and shipping is a constant cycle at Amazon, but why?
For one, Amazon is very straightforward. Buying an item takes one click.
DePaul junior Micaiah Roland says Amazon is “simple and fast.” By making its website easy to navigate for a quicker experience, it keeps the masses coming back for more.
Amazon is always my go-to when I need to buy something, like stickers or phone cases. I appreciate the variety of products and the quality of each item I receive. This makes me rely on Amazon more and more.
Lately though, shoppers have been looking at Amazon alternatives because of their unethical and unsustainable practices. This is giving a rise to other online websites.
Tricia Hermes, a DePaul professor in the English department, is trying to pull away from using Amazon unnecessarily.
“I prefer to get things anywhere else because of Jeff Bezos, but sometimes you just can’t,” Hermes said. “I always try to get stuff somewhere else first — especially books at Barnes & Noble.”
While it is important to make space for other companies, I believe none of them will be able to compete with Amazon for the long term in a capitalist economy.
Let’s look at Etsy, an online marketplace made particularly for artists, designers and crafters. With about one million vendors, Etsy is becoming more popular with consumers due to their art-based community.
Similar to Amazon, Etsy makes navigating their website easy and accessible. Etsy, though, is made for a specific audience, limiting their outreach and market.
Amazon, on the other hand, has a wide market in books, electronics, movies, beauty, groceries, clothing and other mass-produced goods. Etsy’s market isn’t nearly as expansive due to their focus on unique and customized items. This makes the customer appeal to Amazon greater compared to other businesses.
In June 2017, Amazon merged with Whole Foods Market. This gives them a huge competitive edge over small businesses because they are bringing in a whole new audience of shoppers. As Amazon expands its reach, it leaves small businesses to fall behind.
DePaul junior William Buckle Jr. appreciates Amazon’s versatility.
“I like how it has a bunch of different vendors on it that are trustworthy, making it better than other sites like eBay,” he said.
I believe Amazon is too well-known, widely-used and successful to ever be in true competition with smaller, upcoming online businesses.
Social media also plays a huge role in Amazon’s popularity, specifically Pinterest.
As of last summer, Amazon has added an in-app shopping feature to social media sites through users clicking on ads. This creates more convenience for shoppers and expands Amazon’s outreach to people.
Amazon has always been ahead of the game by staying innovative and keeping its corporate culture centered around one thing: pleasing customers. Their focus on high customer satisfaction pushes them to constantly come up with new ways to keep users happy and loyal.
From my own experience, Amazon has always been good at suggesting products I would like. This is because they have been focusing on using technology to better reach customers.
For example, Amazon uses AI models to provide more user-unique shopping recommendations on its product details page. This feature accounts for 35% of customer purchases, panning out to be worth $50 billion. Because of this feature, 89% of shoppers are more likely to return to the website.
Amazon has always been a staple in my household. If my family ever needed any household items, Amazon was the way to go. Their continued satisfaction in households keeps Amazon in the game.
I don’t like Jeff Bezos. He has unethical business practices and treats his employees terribly. Yet, I can not think of another shopping website that has everything Amazon offers — or is doing what Amazon is doing.
Regardless of controversies, Amazon’s popularity and longevity throughout time have kept (and will continue to keep) them at the top of their game — literally.
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