Introduction
With the rapid technological development, a lot of companies developed e-commerce websites to offer their products to clients. Amazon is among the most well-known and successful of them. It attracts clients providing them with an opportunity to both sell and buy products, services, and information. As all these activities are maintained online, the representatives of the general public tend to find them the most convenient. A wide range of offerings is always available, and there is no necessity to spend time looking for other options. Unlike organizations occupied with e-business, it does not run traditionally and is focused only on online sales (Laudon & Traver, 2017). That is why it is vital for the company to implement well all eight features of e-commerce technology. A lot of attention should be paid to the company’s website to ensure its competitiveness and profitability.
Ubiquity
It is significant for e-commerce organizations to be available regardless of location and time. In this way, those applications they use should make it possible to access the website from various devices. Fortunately, Amazon manages to fulfill this goal. Internet users can easily access it 24/7, using any device that provides an opportunity to access websites. Moreover, this feature is the most crucial for the organization because of the extended marketplace. Traditional boundaries and limitations created because of the geographical location are not important anymore. Companies need to focus on the accessibility of their websites if they are willing to operate successfully. Amazon manages to maintain this feature appropriately so that it remains a leader and a preferable option for those who like online shopping. Ubiquity provides both Amazon and its clients with convenient operations. Moreover, it allows them to save time and energy, which is rather beneficial.
Global Reach
As a rule, companies start operating within their host countries, but over the course of time, they expand outside. In this way, they obtain an opportunity to reach all possible clients. In this perspective, Amazon turns out to be a rather successful organization, because it operates all over the world and provides customers with a wide range of products. Its website allows maintaining commercial transactions across different locations in a more streamlined and sophisticated way than traditional commerce. Thus, the organization has the potential to reach billions of consumers, which is likely to have a positive influence on the overall operations and their outcomes. As a result, e-commerce can improve significantly. What is more, Amazon has a chance to increase online sales substantially, obtaining a better profit. It is also an easy way to promote national goods so that foreigners recognize them easily.
Universal Standards
Those organizations that operate in the sphere of e-commerce are to share the world standard regardless of their location and other peculiarities. Their websites should not be the same, of course. But particular features are to be considered in each of them. In particular, attention should be paid to the way information is presented. For instance, all people should have an opportunity to get information related to the entrance to the market. Product prices should also be seen to all people who are looking for some goods. When searching for a thing with a particular price, the Internet users are likely to refer to Amazon because it can provide not only this thing but also offer free shipping, for instance. Universal standards ensure that organizations have the same level of capability. They are important as they provide an opportunity to minimalize the product search cost. Developing a single marketplace for everyone, Amazon ensures that its price discovery streamlines. It can easily attract new clients because of the low market entry costs. The difficulty in finding all the suppliers and prices can also be overcome due to this feature. Finally, delivery to different places in the world makes it convenient for customers to buy products in this way.
Richness
Amazon’s information richness is important for the company nowadays because it provides it with an opportunity to attract more clients and focus their attention on particular things. Its website design is full of different elements that are meant to appeal to Internet users. For instance, it has a lot of text messages. Using audio and images creates a powerful selling environment (Bilgihan, Kandampully, & Zhang, 2016). Traditional approaches, such as TV and magazines are not that effective anymore because the focus has shifted. Those who want to purchase things online are more likely to be attracted by a number of marketing messages that are on the website.
Interactivity
It is vital for organizations to ensure two-way communication. When customers feel that they are valued, they tend to be more loyal and are likely to attract other clients. In order to make their interactivity better, Amazon resorts to social media. Facebook, for instance, allows not only to advertise the company but also to understand the interests of the Internet users. It monitors people’s activities to have an opportunity to develop those ads that they become more appealing and meet people’s needs. In addition to that, the company provides its clients with an opportunity to call and send an e-mail to its representatives. Being engaged in a dialogue with Amazon, the Internet users have an opportunity to receive personalized services and co-participate in various activities.
Information Density
Amazon ensures that market participants have access to all needed information. It focuses on the necessity to provide a decent amount of data of good quality. As a rule, more information is available for those products that deal with a significant cost drop. As a result, the company also receives an opportunity to maintain accuracy and improve timelines. As a result, Amazon receives an opportunity to save more money. For instance, selling more products can reduce spending connected with information processing and storage.
Personalization/Customization
Amazon does its best to provide its clients with personalized services. The company ensures that its website allows Internet users to obtain unique personalized messages. This feature must be maintained not only at the individual level but also at a group one. The members of the website can save their purchase records so that similar offers are available to them. In addition to that, they can receive e-mails about a new product or information related to it. In this way, Amazon uses people’s individual characteristics to offer them the most appropriate services, which is extremely beneficial.
Social Technology
Amazon pays much attention to personalization which is why it is critical for the company to ensure that its clients have an opportunity to share their ideas and preferences. Even though the organization has ignored integrated social networking for a long time, it implemented this feature as well. However, even before the creation of the most popular social networks, Amazon gathered clients’ opinions. The company used mass web 2.0 elements in order to reach its customers. In this way, Amazon managed to receive valuable consumer feedback (Philipp, 2013).
Conclusions and Recommendations
Amazon has a successful e-commerce website that provides the company with an opportunity to hold the leading position in the industry. It applies all the unique technological features needed to operate online. Amazon has well-implemented information density, as its web pages are full of information about the products offered, including all critical details. On the basis of this data, clients make their decisions regarding the purchase and become more confident in both the product and the company. However, the organization should improve the way it meets universal standards. For instance, for now, it is rather difficult to find lower market entry costs. In addition to that, it will be advantageous if the company pays more attention to the design of its website. Of course, colorful and varied web pages are rather attractive. However, the excessive surplus of colors and fonts looks rather confusing.
Thus, Amazon implements the features of e-commerce technology appropriately, which provides it with an opportunity to attract numerous clients, including individuals and even businesses. The company manages to operate in numerous countries without the pressure of location limits. Nevertheless, the improvement of the universal standards feature is likely to make the company achieve even greater success. Clients will be more satisfied if they have an opportunity to access the market for a lower cost and if they can change the price option while searching for some goods. The failure to reach enhancement will make the process of purchasing inconvenient, affecting revenues adversely.
References
Bilgihan, A., Kandampully, J., & Zhang, T. (2016). Towards a unified customer experience in online shopping environments: Antecedents and outcomes. International Journal of Quality and Service Sciences, 8(1), 102-119.
Laudon, K., & Traver, C. (2017). E-commerce: Business. Technology. Society (13th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.
Philipp, K. (2013). The case of Amazon.com: Towards a conceptual framework of online customer service experience (OCSE) using the emerging consensus technique (ECT). The Journal of Services Marketing, 27(6), 443-457.