Amazon is the world’s largest bookstore by sales. E-commerce plays a vital role in the realization of all this.

1) Shopping is convenient

Amazon provides a powerful retrieval system. Amazon's homepage provides a variety of comprehensive query methods. There are queries based on keywords, authors, book titles, and topics; there are category queries; there are book queries in non-English languages; there are subject guide browsing and navigation systems; there are recommendation centers and best-seller special service windows. Moreover, such a search device is provided on any page of the bookstore to facilitate customers to search and guide customers to make purchases. The company also provides a page specifically for customers who log in to the website for the first time, providing customers with instructions on various online usage methods to help customers become familiar with the purchase process as soon as possible.

After customers enter the Amazon site, they can first find the book they want to buy through various search methods. If they find the book they like, they can put it in the shopping cart. In the shopping cart window, customers can also delete the number of selected books at will. On the payment page, customers can choose their payment method. If it's a gift, you can also include a message and even choose gift wrapping paper. Finally, you can choose the delivery method and location.

The one-click payment mechanism adopted by Amazon makes customers feel more comfortable. Customers only need to register once, and their mailing address and credit card account number will be automatically and securely stored by the system. The next time they purchase, customers only need to click on the book they want to purchase, and the network system can help complete the subsequent procedures. , which includes filling in receiving information such as mailing method and address for customers, and even online payments can be handled by the network system. This kind of fast response service effectively makes up for the distance that cannot be faced face to face in online transactions.

2) Payment security

Amazon provides a variety of payment methods. Currently, there are credit cards, cash transfers, checks, etc. Amazon makes a 100% guarantee on its electronic payment system. If customers still aren't convinced, the company offers an alternative: Simply fill out an online form and enter the last five digits of their credit card and the expiration date. Once a customer submits an order, the company provides the customer with a phone number. The customer uses this phone number to tell the rest of the credit card number. Amazon also promises that if a customer's consumption on Amazon is wrongly claimed, they will not pay a penny.

3) Smooth logistics

Smooth and fast logistics services not only bring satisfactory services to customers, but more importantly, bring low-cost benefits to Amazon.

(1) In logistics management, Amazon gives customers a variety of transportation methods to choose from. Customers can flexibly choose various shipping methods they need, including overnight shipping and various international shipping, as well as exquisite packaging services. As for other functions such as inventory management and vehicle dispatch, customers do not need to worry about it, and they belong to the company's internal management. Amazon has distribution centers operated and managed as wholly-owned subsidiaries and has a complete logistics and distribution network. By 1999, it had established 15 distribution centers in the United States (Georgia, Kansas, Nevada, Delaware, Kentucky and other states), Europe and Asia, covering an area of ??more than 3.5 million square feet. Amazon believes that distribution centers are the last link to reach customers and are undoubtedly the key link in achieving sales. Amazon doesn’t want to lose any sales opportunities due to mistakes in the delivery process. Additionally, Amazon relies on specialized delivery companies such as USP, DHL, and FedEx for shipments. Many titles can be delivered within 24 hours, others within 48 to 72 hours. In January 2000, Amazon reached a cooperation agreement worth US$60 million with the online express company Kozmo.com, allowing customers to order goods within one hour. Under normal circumstances, the time it takes for Amazon to deliver goods to customers is equal to the time it takes to find the ordered product plus the shipping time, without any delays in the middle. In addition, it has designed a more flexible delivery plan to give users greater selectivity, so Amazon has received Users welcome.

(2) Amazon’s inventory has great advantages over traditional bookstores.

Traditional bookstores generally need to have enough inventory for 160 days to meet customers' book purchasing needs. Payment must be made to the distributor or publisher 45 to 90 days after the book is purchased. Therefore, traditional bookstores must bear the cost of books for 4 months. Amazon only needs to keep inventory for 15 days, and the buyer pays immediately with a credit card, so there is always about a month of interest-free working capital on hand.

4) Marketing Strategy

(1) Product Strategy

Amazon is the largest online e-commerce website in the United States selling books, CDs, electronic products, toys, etc. , operating 4.7 million types of commodities. According to the types of goods sold, they are divided into three major categories: books, music and film and television products. Each category has a dedicated page. At the same time, it is easy to see the content and messages of several other pages on each page. In addition, on the homepage of Amazon's bookstore, there are also book reviews from authoritative people to provide a high-quality consumer experience and make customers feel like they are there.

(2) Pricing strategy

Compared with traditional business, Amazon online business is a large-scale business. Amazon once claimed to be the world's largest discounter, offering more than 400,000 discounted books with discount rates ranging from 50% to 40%. Amazon also launched a free shipping program that allows customers to waive shipping costs on orders over $25. Amazon transfers the savings from online information transmission to customers in the form of discounts, allowing customers to fully appreciate the advantages of e-commerce. Bezos once said: "Refuse to provide discounts is a huge mistake. The reason why most Internet companies fail is due to misestimation of the theorem of value."

(3) Promotion strategy

Common promotion methods include advertising, personal selling, public relations and business promotion. These are effective tools for businesses to communicate with customers and the public. In addition to personal selling, the rest of the Amazon Bookstore website is reflected.

① Advertisement

The advertisement should be placed in a reasonable and eye-catching position on the homepage. There are the best books of the day, recent bestsellers, book club recommendations, recent books by famous authors, and more. Not only are there a large number of multimedia advertisements on the Amazon bookstore web page, but its advertisements can also often be seen on other related network sites, such as on Yahoo! When you search for books on the website, you can see ads for Amazon bookstores. A major feature of this bookstore advertisement is its dynamic and real-time nature. The advertising layout changes every day, allowing customers to instantly learn about the latest publications and the most authoritative reviews. In the latest 100 hot information columns, customers can also read news that changes every hour.

② Gifts

In addition to providing discounts to customers who have purchased its products for a long time, Amazon Bookstore also attracts customers by providing shopping coupons or exquisite small gifts to customers of all ages. Buy products from this store for a long time. Amazon's bookstore has a dedicated gift page, which prepares a variety of gifts for adults and children. This is both a business promotion activity in the sales promotion strategy and a public relations activity.

(4) Customer Service

Customer-oriented and people-oriented are the biggest features and highest purpose of Amazon website. Amazon knows that without face-to-face friendly smiles, it must conquer consumers with meticulous and considerate services. Since the founding of the website, Amazon has been working hard to improve its customer management capabilities and achieve customer-centric high-quality services.

① Personalized services

Amazon has been realizing the service tenet of “providing book buyers with the fastest, most convenient, and most pleasant services and enjoyment through the Internet”, maintaining and continuously improving Personalized service. Amazon's success lies not only in its ability to comprehensively, timely and effectively meet readers' needs for books, but more importantly, in its ability to automatically analyze customers' purchase records and recommend personalized books for each customer. Amazon analyzes books that may be of interest to customers based on their previous purchasing habits and then notifies customers via email. Unparalleled product selection, extensive product information, personalized recommendations, and increased customer satisfaction by 33%.

② Frequently Asked Questions

The bookstore also provides answers to customers' common technical questions. For example, the company has set up a FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) page to answer some questions frequently asked by customers. For example, how to pay online? How much is the shipping fee? How to order out-of-stock books? etc. Moreover, if the customer himself has special questions, the company will also provide special answers to the customer.

③ Obtain customer feedback

Customer feedback is not only after-sales service, but also the basis for market analysis and prediction in online marketing. Amazon has been working hard to communicate information between enterprises and the public. It humbly listens to and collects feedback from all types of public and relevant intermediaries on the company and its products and services. The Amazon Bookstore website provides emails, questionnaires, etc. to obtain customer feedback on its business site. Emails often contain customers’ opinions and suggestions on products. On the one hand, bookstores can address customer opinions; on the other hand, they can also obtain a large amount of useful market information from customer feedback, which helps the company formulate reasonable and effective business strategies.

④ Reader Forum

Amazon also provides a reader forum similar to BBS. The main purpose is to arouse public interest in some hot topics, guide and stimulate the consumer market, and through public topics and interest analysis, grasp market demand trends, and sell books and audio products that users are interested in.

5) Strengthen cooperation and obtain support from suppliers

Amazon Bookstore does everything possible to promote its website and constantly seeks partners. Amazon’s “Partner Program” has attracted the attention of more suppliers. One year after its establishment, Amazon became the leader in the sales enterprise alliance. Links to websites such as Dell and Microsoft, through which customers can directly enter the Amazon bookstore; cooperates with Borders Groud, one of the largest book retailers in the United States. As part of the agreement, Amazon will provide Borders Groud with e-commerce solutions, including technical services, website content, product selection and customer service. Amazon records all online transaction data and gives Borders Groud a fixed percentage of sales profits. Through this agreement, customers who order online can go to their nearest Borders Groud store to pick up their items on the same day. Because there are many partners and middlemen, the convenience and shopping opportunities for customers to enter the Amazon website have been greatly increased.