There’s no question that as soon as Amazon entered the scene, online shopping changed forever.
With its low prices and reliable shipping, Amazon set the standard for what online shopping should be.
Although Amazon started as a simple bookstore, it has since evolved into a marketplace, game studio, and entertainment producer.
Considering how successful it is, you may wonder what the company has done to make itself so.
Here are 20 reasons why Amazon is successful, including their constant innovation and a clear focus on customer needs.
Why Is Amazon Successful? (20 Reasons Why)
1. Customer-Focused
When business owners decide to start a business, it is often the result of them realizing that a problem exists that they can fix.
They might have had a problem themselves and found a solution for it.
As a result, they may want to sell that solution to others who will find it beneficial.
This is what is considered a customer-focused business.
They identified a problem that customers frequently have, then invented a solution for that problem.
This is how Amazon remains successful.
It puts all of its focus on satisfying its customers.
Amazon knows that if its customers aren’t happy, then they’re going to shop elsewhere.
Years ago, Amazon was primarily alone in the e-commerce space.
They had a lot of products and very little competition that came close to them.
That changed as the world started to shift more toward online shopping and e-commerce.
Amazon found itself sharing the space with several competitors.
As such, they had to hold tight to their focus.
By keeping their customers happy, they could ensure that they would always choose Amazon over their competitors.
Amazon has remained successful because it does everything in its power to serve customers.
2. Offers Quality Goods At Affordable Prices
One problem that Amazon identified early on was that customers wanted quality products for affordable prices.
They believed that certain goods should be affordable.
Amazon saw this problem and tried to find a solution.
The problem with selling high-quality goods at affordable prices is that it usually means the seller doesn’t generate a high enough profit to stay in business.
As such, Amazon needed to come up with a new solution that would enable them to stay profitable while also lowering the price of goods.
This was what inspired Amazon Prime.
Through Amazon Prime, they were able to generate enough money through a subscription plan to lower prices and offer other benefits to members.
It solved the problem and enticed customers to join because of the benefits they received.
Amazon is successful because of its ability to sell high-quality goods at affordable prices.
3. Fast Shipping
There’s a reason that customers often choose Amazon over other online retailers.
They know that their shipping is going to be fast.
Compared to other stores, Amazon has incredibly fast shipping.
If you’re a Prime member, then you can sometimes get your order the next day.
Back when Amazon first got started, this was unheard of.
When you ordered something online, you could expect it to take weeks to arrive.
Amazon changed the game by investing in warehouses and distribution centers in its areas of operation.
As Amazon grew, it built more warehouses and distribution centers.
Having large centers across the United States allows the company to quickly ship almost any order to customers.
No one likes to wait for their shipments.
Amazon knew that if it wanted to compete with physical stores, then it would need to focus on its logistics.
That’s because they needed to convince their customers that it was worth waiting a few days for their product to arrive instead of simply going to a physical store and buying it then and there.
Other businesses were unable to provide services that made it worth waiting for the product to arrive.
Amazon did and it became successful as a result.
4. Reliable Shipping
Another important aspect of Amazon’s success is how reliable its shipping is.
Nothing frustrates a customer more than when their package either doesn’t arrive or arrives damaged.
It requires the customer to return the item or open a claim about the missing delivery.
That takes time which means the customer has to wait even longer without having the item that they want.
Amazon wanted to avoid shipping problems altogether and thus created a reliable logistics system.
They ensured that there was a solid process in place that reduced the number of missing shipments or broken packages.
By having reliable shipping, Amazon reinforced its reputation that it was a reliable online retailer.
Other businesses didn’t necessarily do the same.
They may not have had the policies in place to ensure packages arrived safely or at all.
As such, customers, frustrated with the experiences they had with them, stopped ordering from them.
Amazon is successful because it doubled down on its shipping processes to ensure they were reliable.
5. Buyer Protections
Amazon was also unique in that it provided buyer protections to its customers.
Before Amazon, buying online was always a bit risky.
Customers could never be 100% sure if the product they were buying was real or counterfeit.
Nor could they be sure that the package would arrive at their address.
For some customers, the risk proved to be too much.
They chose not to bother with online shopping and instead continued to shop at physical stores.
Amazon encouraged customers to stick with them by providing buyer protections.
Those have changed over time.
As Amazon offered more services or benefits, its buyer protections changed to include the additions.
For example, when they started to offer overnight or two-day delivery, they began the Guaranteed Delivery buyer protection program.
If customers did not receive their product on the specific date that Amazon promised, then they could get their money back.
The same goes for broken items.
If something wasn’t right, then Amazon would ensure they’d receive a refund.
This encouraged customers to trust Amazon and has allowed the company to become as successful as it is.
6. Solves Problems
The success of a business largely comes down to its business model.
Some companies focus on pushing a product.
Others make one product or service, then continue to innovate it.
Amazon does something a little different.
They’re in the business of solving problems.
They operate by examining the problems that their customers have and then finding solutions for them.
For example, customers didn’t like how long it took for products to ship.
Amazon examined the problem and fixed it by providing fast shipping options for its customers.
The customers enjoyed the fast shipping and started using Amazon more than other online retailers because the problem they had wasn’t a problem at Amazon any longer.
Amazon doesn’t focus on providing solutions for problems that don’t exist.
They don’t waste their time or resources in that way.
Instead, they listen to their customers, learn, and then provide solutions that keep their customers coming back.
Amazon is successful because it focuses on providing solutions to problems.
7. Lowers Barrier Of Entry
Another reason Amazon is successful is that it ensures its website and services are easy to use.
Amazon emerged during a time when people were still using to learn the Internet.
Many people had never used the Internet before and were learning as it evolved.
There were also younger generations who grew up with the Internet and using it was as second nature as reading for them.
Amazon knew it needed a design that lowered the barrier of entry as much as possible.
It needed to be approachable.
In this way, no matter how Internet-literate an individual was, it’d be easy to use the site.
Amazon did this by providing a clear interface and utilizing symbols along with words.
It made product pages easy to read and scan.
By lowering the barrier of entry to using Amazon’s website, it encouraged everyone to buy from them.
Amazon is successful because its website is easily accessible.
8. Doesn’t Sell Customers On Products
Amazon does business a little differently than other companies.
In many cases, businesses will invent a product and then try and sell it to a customer.
The product doesn’t necessarily solve a problem that a customer has.
Yet, companies still focus on explaining to the customer why they need the product.
Amazon doesn’t work like that.
Instead, they only invent new products and services when it’s clear there’s customer demand for them.
They keep their focus on new services extremely limited and directed.
If a service or product doesn’t truly help Amazon’s customers, then they don’t pursue it.
Amazon can be successful because it doesn’t waste its resources on trying to sell services to customers that they don’t actually need or want.
9. Executives Meet Together
It can be incredibly difficult to get executives and their assistants in a room together all at once.
It can be even more difficult to get those executives to work together and make decisions on things.
Amazon is successful because it’s able to do just that.
It utilizes press releases and six-pagers to summarize issues and new services for all the executives to easily read.
Because the information is succinct, they can quickly decide together whether something is worth pursuing or not.
When a business’s executive team is strong and works together, then the company flourishes.
10. Private Labels
For a while, Amazon’s primary focus was on selling third-party goods as well as some of its own goods.
They slowly started to introduce private labels, too.
This has allowed Amazon to compete with other companies that also offer private labels.
The shift has made more people interested in shopping at Amazon, particularly those who prefer private labels.
Amazon is successful because it has started to release private labels.
11. Some Physical Stores
For most of its history, Amazon has always been an online marketplace.
That is slowly changing.
In a few cities, it’s possible to shop at physical Amazon stores.
While the goods may not be as numerous as what’s on the online marketplace, you can still find a good number of products across different categories.
You get all the benefits of shopping at Amazon but in a physical store.
This has made Amazon successful because it caters to people who love shopping at physical stores.
It brings Amazon’s reputation to a tried and true form of shopping.
12. Large Number Of Products
One of the reasons Amazon is successful is that it offers a huge list of products.
The categories of items that Amazon sells are almost endless.
This has made it successful because it appeals to so many different people.
People can one-stop shop at Amazon.
They can get everything they need in one place.
Not only does this usually save the customer money, but it also saves them time.
The wide variety of products that Amazon offers has made Amazon successful because it makes shopping more convenient.
13. Free Shipping And Returns
Another big reason Amazon is successful is that it offers free shipping and free returns.
Even if you’re not an Amazon Prime member, there are a few rare cases where you can get free shipping.
If you are an Amazon Prime member, then you get to enjoy free shipping on virtually all your purchases.
If a product doesn’t arrive right, then you can also return it to Amazon for free.
With other businesses, you might have to pay a fee to return an item.
In many cases, you have to pay for shipping.
By making those services free, Amazon has attracted many customers to its marketplace.
14. Offers Overnight Delivery
As online shopping became a bit more competitive, Amazon needed a new way to stand apart from the other e-commerce businesses.
It did this by offering overnight delivery.
Depending on the product, you might be able to order it and get it delivered overnight.
When you select this service, Amazon delivers the product immediately.
It shows up at your door first thing in the morning.
This is one of the things that customers love most about Amazon.
It made Amazon successful because it placed the company ahead of its competitors.
Most other businesses aren’t able to offer overnight delivery just yet.
15. 24-Hour Customer Service
To double down on its focus on customer happiness, Amazon offers 24-hour customer service.
No matter what time of day it is, you can always talk to a representative.
Amazon also has several online resources that let you handle problems yourself or find answers to questions that you have.
Because Amazon wants to make its customers happy, it puts a lot of effort into providing high-quality customer service.
As such, you’ll find that it has some of the best customer services in the e-commerce space.
16. Experienced And Talented Management Team
Amazon all started with Jeff Bezos.
There’s no question that he’s a talented man like other entrepreneurs before him.
Bezos knew that if he wanted Amazon to succeed, then he’d need a team of equally experienced and talented individuals to help.
Amazon has always hired top-tier talent and this focus on talented management has allowed it to succeed.
Without great management, the rest of the business wouldn’t be nearly as successful.
To ensure Amazon continues to steer itself down a successful path, it needs experienced and talented management.
17. Innovative
Another thing that has made Amazon successful is its focus on innovation.
From the start, Amazon has always been innovative.
It started as a simple bookstore, then looked for new ways to evolve.
Besides selling its own products, it became a marketplace where third-party sellers could use its foundation to sell their products.
Then it expanded into other industries, too.
Amazon is constantly changing and evolving to meet customers’ needs and even anticipate them.
By innovating, Amazon has remained relevant even as other e-commerce businesses have fallen by the wayside.
18. Reviews
Arguably one of the top reasons why Amazon is as successful as it is has to do with product reviews.
Users can submit reviews based on the experience that they had when buying the product as well as on the product, itself.
This allows other customers to determine if they want to buy the product or not.
Amazon uses reviews to see how sellers handle their customers as well as to see if there are new problems that they can solve.
Reviews also add some legitimacy to the marketplace.
Without that legitimacy, Amazon may not be as successful as it is today because customers might be wary of paying low prices for high-quality goods.
19. Sponsorships
There’s an argument that Amazon is as effective at advertising as Google.
When you perform a Google search for something, you will undoubtedly see an Amazon ad in the mix.
Amazon also introduced an affiliate program that lets websites link to products on Amazon and earn a small commission.
These sorts of sponsorships or ads have only further increased Amazon’s success because they help generate traffic for them.
Amazon already has a solid reputation with most of its customers.
All they need to do is remind customers that they have a product that the customer wants.
Sponsorships have made Amazon successful because they help the marketplace generate traffic and sales.
20. Entertainment Industry
A final reason Amazon is successful is that it hasn’t allowed itself to only be a marketplace.
It has diversified.
One of the ways it has diversified is by entering the entertainment industry.
Amazon now produces premium television shows and movies that its Prime members can watch for free.
This has made Amazon successful because it encourages more people to become Prime members which means more profit for Amazon.
As Amazon publishes more premium content, it could easily take on, if not overtake, other streaming giants.
Conclusion
Amazon is an incredibly successful business.
Its focus on providing real solutions to real customer problems is one of the reasons why it’s been able to remain successful.
As long as Amazon continues to innovate, it will likely remain successful for years to come.
