Amazon is quoted every week for its innovation but when you sit and think about it, it’s the tiny incremental improvements in their user experience that creep up on you. When you do notice them it’s clear to see that their analytical and user proven improvements make a big difference to your shopping experience.
It’s been EIGHTEEN YEARS since Amazon patented the ‘one click’ checkout! I’m sorry if I sound a bit amazed by that but now I feel really old. But it backs up my point on incremental improvements.
Whether its user reviews, recommended products, wish lists, family accounts or complimentary services Amazon gets there early and keeps tweaking until it’s better than everyone else. This isn’t magic it’s a combination of hard work, maths and common sense but most importantly always putting the consumer first.
There is a lot of talk about Amazon having a problem that it can’t fix with its delivery costs. My personal view is that getting someone to pay from £79 up (depending on the promo you find) for a year’s delivery isn’t a bad business model. Which brings us onto Prime.
Amazon really, really want you to be a prime member. That’s stating the obvious but if you are a Prime member you get the same free delivery as anyone else but within 24 hours. Amazon is really good at distribution and fulfilment so getting things to you fast is easy for them. So getting you to pay for fast delivery, which is as painless for their business as standard free delivery makes complete sense.
With the launch of the Dash a few years ago, and now its API and integration on Amazon in a digital format it’s striking at the inspiration point with precision. The amount of behavioural and user data that Amazon hold is huge. It is also what they will use to place the Dash buttons exactly where and when you are most likely to act on your displayed shopping intent.
We’re already seeing price and brand sensitivity move down the consideration set with the use of Alexa and that’s not a coincidence. Amazon are launching own label brands at pace in a world where the label is, to some, becoming less important. Competing at a brand level when they are known for price matching is why Amazon are set to challenge every retailer and brand where it hurts. Their loyal fan base is becoming less loyal over time and at times it’s not even a conscious decision.
Amazon is changing how people shop and they are not going to stop the incremental improvements which improve all of their products and services.
- Amazon own brands are taking market share – https://techcrunch.com/2016/11/03/amazons-private-label-brands-are-killing-it-says-new-report/
- Amazon Dash button launch in 2015 – http://www.wired.co.uk/article/amazon-dash-uk-launch-price-brands
- Amazon’s profits hit by free delivery in 2016 – http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2016/01/29/amazons-shipping-costs-swell-but-is-it-all-bad/
- Amazon patent ‘one click’ – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1-Click