AMAZON)

“Case Study On Amazon”
A Project Submitted to
University of Mumbai for partial completion of the degree
of
Bachelor of Management Studies
Under the Faculty of Commerce.
Semester VI
(2018-2019)
By
Shruti Salvi
ROLL NO. TYMS051
Under the Guidance of
Prof. Mrs. Sajitha .S Kumar
BHAVANS COLLEGE
ANDHERI (WEST) MUMBAI 400058
1
“Case Study On Amazon”
A Project Submitted to
University of Mumbai for partial completion of the degree
of
Bachelor of Management Studies
Under the Faculty of Commerce.
Semester VI
(2018-2019)
By
Shruti Salvi
ROLL NO. TYMS051
Under the Guidance of
Prof. Mrs. Sajitha .S Kumar
BHAVANS COLLEGE
2
ANDHERI (WEST) MUMBAI 400058
Declaration
I the undersigned Ms.Shruti Salvi here by, declare that the work embodiedin this project
work titled“Case Study On Amazon”. forms my own contribution to the research
work carried out under the guidance of Prof.Mrs.Sajitha.S Kumar is a result of my own
research work andhas not been previously submitted to any other University for any other
Degree to this or any other University.
Wherever reference has been made to previous works of others, it has been clearly
indicated as such and included in the bibliography.
I, here by further declare that all information of this document has been obtained and
presented in accordance with academic rules and ethical conduct.
_________________________
Shruti Salvi
ROLL. NO. TYMS051
Certified by
Prof. Mrs.Sajitha.S Kumar
Date:
Place:
3
Certificate
This is to certify that Ms.Shruti Salvi has worked and duly completed his Project Work
for the degree of Bachelor of Management Studies and his project is entitled, “Case
Study On Amazon” under my supervision. I further certify that the entire work has
been done by the learner under my guidance and that no part of it has been submitted
previously for any Degree of any University.
It is his own work and facts reported by his personal findings and investigations.
_________________ _________________
Course coordinator Principal
Date of submission:
______________
Project Guide
External Examiner
Sr. no Name of Examinar signature Date
1.
2.
4
Acknowledgment
To list who all have helped me is difficult because they are so numerous and the depth is
so enormous.
I would like to acknowledge the following as being idealistic channels and fresh
dimensions in the completion of this project.
I take this opportunity to thank the University of Mumbai for giving me chance to do
this project.
I would like to thank my Principal, Dr.ZarineBathenafor providing the necessary

facilities required for completion of this project.
I take this opportunity to thank our Coordinator Dr. Sandhya Nabar, for her moral
support and guidance.
I would also like to express my sincere gratitude towards my project guide

Prof.Mrs.Sajitha S. Kumarwhose guidance and care made the project successful.
I would like to thank my College Library, for having provided various reference books
and magazines related to my project.
Lastly, I would like to thank each and every person who directly or indirectly helped me
in the completion of the project especially myParents and Peers who supported me
throughout my project.
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INDEX
SR NO TITLE PAGE NO
1 CHAPTER 1 8
Introduction
1.1 Industry background
1.2 Founder
1.3 History of amazon
2 CHAPTER 2 16
Objectives Of The Study
3 CHAPTER 3 17
LITERATURE REVIEW
4 CHAPTER 4 19
SCOPE OF THE STUDY
4.1 Strategy
4.2 Company Strategy
4.3 Features
5 CHAPTER 5 52
LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
6 CHAPTER 6 61
RESEEARCH METHODOLOGY
7 CHAPTER 7 62
DATA INTERPRETATION
6
8 CHAPTER 8 65
DATA ANALYSIS
9 CHAPTER 9 73
CONCLUSION
10 CHAPTER 10 74
BIBLIOGRAPHY
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CHAPTER 1-INTRODUCTION TO CASE STUDY ON AMAZON
Amazon.in
Amazon.com, Inc., doing business as Amazon is an American electronic commerce and cloud
computing company that was founded on July 5, 1994, by Jeff Bezos and is based in Seattle,
Washington. It is the largest Internet-based retailer in the world by total sales and market
capitalization.[3] Amazon.com started as an online bookstore, later diversifying to sell DVDs,
Blu-rays, CDs, video downloads/streaming, MP3 downloads/streaming, audiobook
downloads/streaming, software, video games, electronics, apparel, furniture, food, toys, and
jewelry. The company also produces consumer electronics—notably, Kindle e-readers, Fire
tablets, Fire TV, and Echo—and is the world's largest provider of cloud infrastructure services
(IaaS and PaaS).[4] Amazon also sells certain low-end products like USB cables under its in-
house brand AmazonBasics.
Amazon has separate retail websites for the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, France,
Canada, Germany, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Australia, Brazil, Japan, China, India, and Mexico.
Amazon also offers international shipping to certain other countries for some of its products.[5]
In 2016, Dutch, Polish, and Turkish language versions of the German Amazon website were
launched.
In 2015, Amazon surpassed Walmart as the most valuable retailer in the United States by market
capitalization,[9] and was in the third quarter of 2016 the fourth most valuable public
company.[10]
Modern electronic commerce typically uses the World Wide Web for at least one part of the
transaction's life cycle although it may also use other technologies such as e-mail. Typical e-
commerce transactions include the purchase of online books (such as Amazon) and music
purchases (music download in the form of digital distribution such as iTunes Store), and to a less
extent, customized/personalized online liquor store inventory services.[1] There are three areas
of e-commerce: online retailing, electric markets, and online auctions. E-commerce is supported
by electronic business.[2]
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E-commerce businesses may also employ some or all of the followings:
Online shopping for retail sales direct to consumers via Web sites and mobile apps, and
conversational commerce via live chat, chatbots, and voice assistants[3]
Providing or participating in online marketplaces, which process third-party business-to-

consumer or consumer-to-consumer sales
Business-to-business buying and selling;
Gathering and using demographic data through web contacts and social media
Business-to-business (B2B) electronic data interchange
Marketing to prospective and established customers by e-mail or fax (for example, with
newsletters)
Engaging in pretail for launching new products and services
Online financial exchanges for currency exchanges or trading purposes.
1.1-Industry Background
Amazon.com started out to be the World’s Biggest Bookstore. It has become that and
much, much more. It can now be classified as a broad sector retail business, providing items in
the areas of books, music, movies, clothing, jewelry, home and garden, tools and automotive as
well as other items. Amazon is a special type of retail business, which is completely online.
They have no brick and mortar retail stores nor any outlets or centers. Yahoo Finance lists
Amazon under the “Catalog and Mail Order” sector of retail.
Amazon was created to take advantage of the increasing use and popularity of the
Internet as a retail medium. Amazon chose books as its first commodity for many reasons, one
being that online booksellers would have virtually unlimited shelf space to “store” their wares.
U.S. booksellers were relying on large superstores to do most of their selling but even then, they
were limited in what they could carry at any one time. Amazon realized that it could offer a
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much larger selection of books, in fact all of the books in print, and not have to worry about
over-stocking or any storage issues. With agreements with other booksellers, Amazon could
offer the books and then get them from third-party resellers to ship to their customers. The
cutting down of storage and purchasing costs could allow Amazon to provide lower costs to their
customers.
Another lower cost would be in advertising. The traditional advertising avenues, print
and visual media, would still be available but Amazon, being online, could have website
advertising with links directly to their website or the products themselves. Amazon would get its
name out there in the world of bookselling as well as have a place for others to sell their books.
Amazon also saw an opportunity and offered their basic website structure and processes to
private individuals and other booksellers, such as Borders. Borders customers could arrive at a
website for Borders, see that it is run by Amazon and then have another avenue for purchasing
books. Amazon would than be paid either as a web space provider or as a bookseller.
Amazon also has an advantage over brick-and-mortar booksellers is that they can offer its
extensive product lineup at the time its convenient to the customer. Amazon’s website is open
24 hours a day, 7 days a week. No one needs to go to a store to look for books and order them if
not in stock. The customer can easily look for and order a book at 10 am or at 3 am, as the need
or desire strikes them. With the ease of ordering comes the ease of payment. Amazon takes
credit cards, checks, money orders and even purchase orders from companies and institutions.
Once you set up an account, most books and other products are but a mouse-click away.
Unlike other Mail Order or Catalog retail companies, Amazon can take advantage of the
Internet and use email as a form of communication, both to confirm orders and purchases as well
as to contact customers with delivery information. Being an online retailer, Amazon has taken
advantage of the ease of use of the Internet in its business dealings. Instead of relying on the
mail service to send out catalogs, Amazon can let customers arrive at its home through word of
mouth and can also contact former customers via email to entice them back to purchasing. The
Internet is certainly the way for catalog selling to move, because it has many advantages and can
still maintain its character of ease and convenience. In creating a database for Amazon, we need
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to keep this ease and convenience in mind as we design and create a flexible, easy to use,
database.
1.2 Founder
In this success story, we are going to share Jeff Bezos biography, an American entrepreneur and
e-commerce pioneer, the creator of online store Amazon.com. He is also the founder of Blue
Origin, a company that aims to make space travel affordable to ordinary people. Bezos always
has his customer in mind, no matter what he is working on. His number one priority is making it
as available and easily accessible as possible. A hyper-intelligent, ultra-driven individual,
Bezos’s a dual-personality can turn him from a compassionate person to a rough executive
within seconds. An extraordinarily ambitious person, Jeff Bezos to this day seeks to push the
possibilities of modern technology beyond the imaginable. Early Life
Jeffrey Preston “Jeff” Bezos” (pronounced BAY-zoes) was born on January 12, 1964, in
Albuquerque, New Mexico. His biological father, Ted Jorgenson, was one of Albuquerque’s top
unicyclists and part of a local troupe the Unicycle Wranglers who put on performance at county
fairs and circuses while Jeff was still a baby. Jeff’s mother, Jacklyn Bezos, was still in her teens
when she married Ted, and their marriage lasted for little more than one year.
“The reality, as far as I’m concerned, is that my Dad is my natural father. The only time I ever
think about it, genuinely, is when a doctor asks me to fill out a form,” Jeff told Wired in 1999.
Jeff’s stepfather, Mike Bezos, was born in Cuba. He escaped to the United States alone at the age
of 15 and worked at the University of Albuquerque. When he married Jeff’s mother, the family
moved to Houston, Texas where Mike became an engineer for Exxon – American, an oil and gas
company that flourished from the mid-1940s to the 1970s.
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Jeff displayed remarkable mechanical talent from an early age, which fits well with his varied
scientific interests. As a toddler, he had managed to dismantle his crib with a screwdriver and as
a teen, he had developed an electric alarm to keep younger siblings out of his room. Jeff’s
parents eventually asked him to move all his stuff to their garage which he converted into a
laboratory for his science projects.
Jeff’s ancestors on the mother’s side were early settlers in Texas and the family owned a large
ranch at Cotulla that had been passed on to them over the generations. Jeff’s grandfather,
Lawrence Preston “Pop” Gise, was a regional director of The United States Atomic Energy
Commission (AEC) in Albuquerque and had supervised the Los Alamos and Lawrence
Livermore nuclear labs before retiring to the family ranch.
Education
Jeff Bezos attended River Oaks Elementary School in Houston from fourth to sixth grade. He
would spend summers at the ranch working on enormously varied tasks such as laying pipe,
fixing windmills, vaccinating cattle, and other farm work. His grandfather, Lawrence Gise, was a
huge role model in his life, with this wide-ranging knowledge of science and constant presence
on the ranch. In a 2010 commencement speech, Jeff told graduates that his grandfather taught
him how “it’s harder to be kind than clever.”
Bezos started his first business at school. It was called The Dream Institute, and it was an
educational summer camp for fourth, fifth and sixth graders. There were some books that Bezos
required his participants to read. They were: The Lord of the Rings novel by J. R. R.
Tolkien, Dune novel by Frank Herbert, Stranger in a Strange Land novel by Robert A.
Heinlein, The Once and Future King novel by T. H. White, Watership Down novel by Richard
Adams, Black Beauty novel by Anna Sewell, Gulliver’s Travels book by Jonathan Swift, David
Copperfield novel by Charles Dickens, and Treasure Island novel by Robert Louis Stevenson,
along with the plays Our Town by Thornton Wilder and The Matchmaker by John B. Keane and
Thornton Wilder.
The family eventually moved to Florida and Jeff was transferred to Miami Palmetto Senior High
School where he excelled at his studies and realized his love for computers. He was even invited
to participate in the Student Science Training Program at the University of Florida, where he
won a Silver Knight Award in 1982 and was a National Merit Scholar. Bezos graduated as the
school’s valedictorian, and a National Merit Scholar, securing his spot at Princeton University.
Bezos planned to study physics at Princeton University, but he soon decided to return to his love
of computers. He graduated with two Bachelor of Science degrees in computer science and
electrical engineering from Princeton University. “Mediocre theoretical physicists make no
progress. They spend all their time understanding other people’s progress,” Bezos told Guardian,
commenting on his decision.
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Amazon was founded in 1994 by Jeffrey P.
Bezos. Jeff Bezosincorporated the company
(as Cadabra) in July 1994. The name
Amazon was founded soon after because the
Amazon River is the largest in the world, and the letter “A” would help the company to show up
at the top of alphabetical lists. and the site went online as Amazon.com in 1995. The name
Amazon was founded soon after because the Amazon River is the largest in the world, and the
letter “A” would help the company to show up at the top of alphabetical lists. The one thing that
made them famous was their books.Their first profit was reached in the last quarter of 2001.The
logo itself is the company name. Amazon, with an arrow below, pointing from A to Z,
representing that they could provide every product in the alphabet and also customer satisfaction,
as it forms a smile. Amazons headquarters is in Seattle Washington United States. A major
provider of cloud computing services.
early Career
After graduating, Bezos went to Wall Street where computer science was increasingly in demand
and worked in several firms. The job at Fitel (a startup aiming to build a network to conduct
international trade) had him flying every week between New York and London.
Bezos stayed in the finance realm with Bankers Trust, where he rose to vice president, and later
the investment firm D.E. Shaw. The company specialized in the application of computer sciences
to the stock market, and Bezos was hired for his overall talent in the field. At D.E. Shaw, Jeff
met his wife MacKenzie, who was also a Princeton graduate. Jeff married MacKenzie Bezos in
1993. Bezos rose quickly through the ranks, and in 1990 became the youngest senior vice
president in the company’s history.
It was at D.E. Shaw where Jeff Bezos first came across a digit that would change his life and the
course of internet history. While surfing the web in search of new ventures for D.E. Shaw, Bezos
found a statistic that World Wide Web was growing by 2,300 percent a month. Bezos
immediately understood the potential prospects of selling products online. Shaw tried his best to
convince Bezos to stay in his firm on a long walk in Central Park, but Jeff decided that he would
rather try and fail than never try at all.
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1.3- HISTORY OF AMAZON
This startup story features Jeffrey P. Bezos, the innovative founder of Amazon. The company,
which now generates over $61 Billion in Revenue and holds the title as the world’s largest
online retailer, was started out of Bezos’s garage at 30 years old.
Amazon Stats:
Industry: Online Retailing
Annual Revenue: $61.09 Billion
# of Employees: 97,000
Famous For: Being the world’s largest online retailer
How Amazon Got Started
The year was 94′ and Bezos was working diligently on Wall Street. At 30 years old, he began to
see the internet revolution take place, and made the decision to quit his job and start an internet
company.
Amazon startup story
“The wake up call was finding this startling statistic that web usage in the spring of 1994 was
growing at 2,300 percent a year. You know, things just don’t grow that fast. It’s highly unusual,
and that started me about thinking, “What kind of business plan might make sense in the context
of that growth?”
After making a list of the ‘top 20’ products that he could potentially sell on the internet, he
decided on books because of their low cost and universal demand. It turns out, it was just the
beginning…..
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The Founder’s Start
As a child, he spent summers at his grandfather’s ranch in southern Texas, “laying pipe,
vaccinating cattle and fixing windmills”. The 18-year-old Bezos “said he wanted to build space
hotels, amusement parks and colonies for 2 million or 3 million people who would be in orbit.
‘The whole idea is to preserve the earth’ he told the newspaper …. The goal was to be able to
evacuate humans. The planet would become a park”.
Amazon’s Funding
The initial startup capital came from his parent’s personal savings.
From an interview with Jeff Bezos, for the Academy of Achievement:
“The first initial start-up capital for Amazon.com came primarily from my parents, and they
invested a large fraction of their life savings in what became Amazon.com. And you know, that
was a very bold and trusting thing for them to do because they didn’t know. My dad’s first
question was, “What’s the Internet?” Okay. So he wasn’t making a bet on this company or this
concept. He was making a bet on his son, as was my mother. So, I told them that I thought there
was a 70 percent chance that they would lose their whole investment, which was a few hundred
thousand dollars, and they did it anyway.”
Follow on Funding
Amazon raised a series A of $8M from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers in 1995. In 1997,
Amazon went public to raise additional capital. By 1999, the value of the Kleiner Perkins
Caufield & Byers investment in Amazon created returns of over 55,000%.
Years to profitability
Within two months, Amazon’s sales were up to $20,000/week. However, the company has
continued to plow their revenue back into growth. The chart below depicts Amazon’s continued
focus on long-term growth, with profit remaining near $0 or below, and revenue rising.
15
Important Amazon Milestones:
1994: Jeff Bezos quits his job and launches Amazon out of his garage.
Within 30 Days, it is doing $20,000 per week in sales.
1995: Bezos raises an $8 Million round of funding from Kleiner Perkins.
1997: Amazon goes public at $18 per share.
1999: Bezos is named Time Magazine’s “Person of the Year” for popularizing online shopping.
2009: Bezos acquires Tony Tsieh’s Zappos through a stock swap.
2013: Bezos acquires the Washington Post.
Companies Amazon Has Acquired:

Amazon has made over 44 notable company acquisitions over the years. It’s first Acquisition
was in 1998.
o 1998: PlanetAll, Junglee, Bookpages.co.uk (later became Amazon UK).

o 1999: Internet Movie Database (IMDb), Alexa, Accept.com, and Exchange.com
o 2003: CDNow (Defunct)
o 2004: Joyo.com, an e-commerce site in China.
o 2005: BookSurge, Mobipocket.com, and CreateSpace.com.
o 2006: Shopbop, a women’s luxury retailer.
o 2007: DPReview.com and Brilliance Audio.
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o 2008: Audible.com, Fabric.com, Box Office Mojo, AbeBooks, Shelfari, and Reflexive
Entertainment.
o 2009: Zappos, Lexcycle, SnapTell, Stanza (Kindle Rival).
o 2010: Touchco., Woot, Quidsi, BuyVIP, and Amie Street.
o 2010: Toby Press
o 2011: LoveFilm, The Book Depository, Pushbutton, and Yap
o 2012: Kiva Systems, Teachstreet, and Evi
o 2013: IVONA Software, GoodReads, and Liquavista
CHAPTER 2 -OBJECTIVES
 To study about amazon.in
 To study the swot analysis
 To study problems faced by the company
 SWOT ANALYSIS
Chapter 3 –Literature review
EU's Top Competition Cop Says Amazon Probe in 'Quite Advanced' Stage
by Cat Zakrzewski, The Washington Post, 13 March 2019
Amazon's Alexa Has 80,000 Apps and No Runaway Hit
Amazon's Alexa Has 80,000 Apps and No Runaway Hit

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by Matt Day, Bloomberg, 13 March 2019
TV Still King in India as Digital Closes Gap on Film, Print: FICCI-EY Report
TV Still King in India as Digital Closes Gap on Film, Print: FICCI-EY Report
by Akhil Arora, 13 March 2019
How Amazon’s Made in Heaven Married the Best Stories From India With Techniques From the
West
How Amazon’s Made in Heaven Married the Best Stories From India With Techniques From the
West
Amazon Said to Lift Restrictions on Sellers Criticised as Anti-Competitive
Amazon Said to Lift Restrictions on Sellers Criticised as Anti-Competitive
by Reuters, 12 March 2019
Amazon Domain Battle Rages on as Internet Overseer Postpones Decision
Amazon Domain Battle Rages on as Internet Overseer Postpones Decision
by Reuters, 12 March 2019
Amazon Offers: Honor Play, Honor 8X, Honor 8C, Honor 7C Discounted in Honor Days Sale
Amazon Offers: Honor Play, Honor 8X, Honor 8C, Honor 7C Discounted in Honor Days Sale
by Gadgets 360 Staff, 12 March 2019
US Senator Proposes Breaking Up Amazon, Facebook, Google
US Senator Proposes Breaking Up Amazon, Facebook, Google
by Brian Fung, Tony Romm, The Washington Post, 09 March 2019
Made in Heaven, Amazon Series About Indian Weddings, Is Both Big and Fat
Made in Heaven, Amazon Series About Indian Weddings, Is Both Big and Fat
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The Best Media Streaming Devices for Your TV
The Best Media Streaming Devices for Your TV
by Ali Pardiwala, 07 March 2019
Amazon to Close US Pop-Up Shops as It Opens More Book Stores
Amazon to Close US Pop-Up Shops as It Opens More Book Stores
by Associated Press, 07 March 2019
Akshay Kumar, Amazon Prime Video Announce Action-Adventure Indian Original Series The
End
Akshay Kumar, Amazon Prime Video Announce Action-Adventure Indian Original Series The
End
Amazon Fab Phone Fest Sale: OnePlus 6T, Mi A2, Redmi Y2, Realme U1, More Get Offers,
Discounts
Amazon Fab Phone Fest Sale: OnePlus 6T, Mi A2, Redmi Y2, Realme U1, More Get Offers,
Discounts
by Tasneem Akolawala, 06 March 2019
CHAPTER 4- SCOPE OF THE STUDY
4.1 - An Update on Amazon’s Strategic Plan

In a blog post from last spring, CCG shared insights into Amazon’s corporate-level
strategy — in particular, the decision to focus on rolling out new brick-and-mortar store
formats. Did their approach to improve the customer experience by leveraging online and
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offline data work? What did they learn — and how has Amazon’s business strategy
changed one year later? Here’s an update.
Amazon Bookstores
The physical store format appears to be a success for Amazon, having grown to 15
bookstores nationwide. While shoppers can still purchase nearly any book on
amazon.com, Amazon uses the stores to experiment with pricing and product selection.
For example, no prices are displayed. Instead, shoppers use their phones or in -store
kiosks to check prices, further enabling Amazon to learn more about shopper browsing
habits to improve its product selection. Another unique Amazon business str ategy:
Inventory varies by location, based on customer data and reading habits.
Amazon Go
This much anticipated brick-and-mortar store without cashiers or checkout lines opened
earlier this year after extensive testing with Amazon employees. Offering ultra -
convenience, the store sells grocery items and prepared foods. Using advanced
technology, items are scanned and shoppers’ accounts are charged as they leave the store
with their items. Future plans for more stores are unknown.
Grocery Shopping Options
Amazon continues their test, learn and pivot strategy with grocery delivery and drive -thru
service options. They’re reportedly considering consolidating Amazon Fresh and Prime
Now grocery delivery services. Plus, with the addition of Whole Foods, the future o f
Amazon grocery shopping remains to be seen!
Roaming Treasure Truck
Tapping into the FOMO (fear of missing out) concept, the popular Treasure Truck has
expanded to 25 cities, according to Amazon’s website. Each truck contains new, trending
and local hand-picked items, stirring up excitement and anticipation as it cruises through
cities.
Marketing Takeaway
Retailers that embrace a test-and-learn approach to improving the customer experience
will not only learn more about what their customers want, but will better position
themselves for success in the ever-changing retail environment. If budget or staff
resources are a concern, start small, testing a single campaign at a time, for example.
Amazon’s Corporate-Level Strategy — and What It Means for Retailers
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According to Amazon’s letter to shareholders the company is guided by four principles:
customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to
operational excellence and long-term thinking. In both their online and physical
locations, the focus is on selection, price and convenience. One key differentiator? They
don’t stress about competitors as much as they are hyper-focused on their customers.
In addition to the anticipated announcement of a second headquarters location, below are
areas of focus for Amazon in 2018.
Promoting products on Alexa.
Nearly one in five U.S. adults today have access to a smart speaker, according to
recent research. The concept of shopping by voice brings new challenges to advertisers
who must find new ways to get in front of these shoppers. Amazon is reportedly
exploring the idea of helping consumers discover new products through ads as well as
allowing companies to target Alexa users based on past shopping behavior.
Amazon-branded bank accounts.
Amazon is reportedly considering a product that would appeal to younger customers and
those without bank accounts. Partnering with a financial company to offer these co -
branded products versus creating their own may enable Amazon to avoid burdensome
regulation. What’s in it for Amazon? A strategy like this would give the retail giant even
more valuable data on customers’ income and shopping habits.
Amazon plants.
A new site on Amazon lets shoppers purchase a variety of live plants online and receive
care tips. The new concept is an example of how Amazon’s strategic plan leverages data
to predict behaviors and shopping preferences.
Amazon apparel.
In a push to become the largest seller of apparel in the U.S., Amazon is experimenting
with a clothing subscription service as well as private label athleisure wear. Future plans
may include interactive shopping experiences, pop-up shops and fitting rooms with
Alexa-controlled lighting.
The Whole Foods acquisition.
While Amazon hasn’t had the same success in the grocery mark et as it has with other
types of products and services, they persist, believing that selling groceries to a customer
is key to selling them everything else. More importantly for Amazon, the strategy further
embeds their brand into our daily routines. It will be interesting to see if Amazon
combines physical grocery stores with their online delivery service.
New Loyalty Study Helps Explain Amazon’s Success

If you didn’t believe it already, a new Retail Customer Loyalty Study
from customer.com helps prove that Amazon is a dominating force in today’s retail
environment. The report asked consumers to list retailers they tended to exclusively shop
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for particular needs. And Amazon was mentioned more frequently than any of the other
300+ businesses referenced in the study. Watch your email inbox for an announcement
when our first report from the study is available for download!
Statistics from the report also gave insights into why Amazon is ruling the roost, and it
comes back to the retailer’s focus on the customer experience. For example, consumers
who favored Amazon cited a convenient and positive shopping
experience and trust among the top factors driving their loyalty. That shopping
experience also helps Amazon attract more “Loyalists” (shoppers who tend to stick with
one store for a particular need) than competing mega-retailer Walmart.
On the bright side, the study also uncovered factors that can help any retailer drive
greater customer loyalty. For instance, price is, not surprisingly, an important factor —
but receiving a good value and ease in making purchases actually have greater impact for
the majority of consumers. In fact, if access, price and products were equal, consumers
say that a convenient shopping experience and ease of making purchases are the top two
factors that would encourage them to shop at one retailer over another.
What Retailers Can Learn From Amazon: Five Tips for Success
Both brick-and-mortar and online retailers face competition from Amazon, bu t that
competition also invites opportunity. To survive and thrive in 2018, retailers will need to
adapt to changes in consumer behavior and develop customer-focused strategies that
integrate data and technology to deliver more personalized customer experi ences. Here
are five takeaways retailers can learn from Amazon’s success.
1.KNOW WHAT THE CUSTOMERS NEED
In addition to understanding your customers’ wants and needs, understand what
compels them to shop elsewhere. Take that knowledge and put it into action.
2. Maximize data.
Take advantage of every touchpoint to create a more personalized customer
experience. Leverage your customer data to gather behavioral insights. Reach out to other
departments in your organization for additional customer feedback and data.
3. Get obsessive with customer service.

Start by building a customer-centric culture from the top all the way down. Empower
your line associates. Stronger customer connections will lead to more useful feedback
that helps keep retailers focused on delivering what matters to customers.
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4. Be innovative.
Test new ideas and don’t be afraid to fail. For example, update design and merchandise to
attract customers or embrace technology to provide better service.
5. Create a comprehensive CRM strategy.

Integrate transactional, demographic and behavioral data with the right systems and
technology to develop actionable customer profiles. Use data and technology to add value
to the customer experience by offering more personalized experiences.
Marketing Takeaway
Understanding consumer behavior is key to successful long-term relationships and
healthy bottom lines. Don’t be afraid to take risks and try new things. After all, even
Amazon doesn’t get it right every time.
Strategy: An Eye on the Future

Amazon’s business strategy is based on one primary goal: to seamlessly link the digital
and brick-and-mortar shopping experience in order to be part of every single purchase
made. More than merely wanting to sell as much stuff as they can to the most people,
Amazon strives to become so ingrained in people’s lives that they can’t imagine living
without it. This presents challenges as well as opportunities for retailers who stay focused
on current trends, embrace a customer-centric culture and turn their data into action.
Why the Amazon of the Future Could Be Much More Profitable Than It Is Today
The e-commerce giant is fast evolving into a much different kind of business, and that could add
rocket fuel to its bottom line.
AMAZON began life as a humble bookseller before branching out into all corners of retail.
Today the company is best known as an e-commerce giant, with online retail sales set to top
$100 billion this year.
But Amazon is much more than just an online retailer. In fact, Amazon's financial reports reveal
a company that is playing by different rules than its competitors. Rather than driving profits with
online retail, as its peers do, Amazon is using e-commerce business to draw in customers and
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create a massive ecosystem, which it then leverages to generate profits in a number of other
ways, including subscription services like Prime, third-party services through its marketplace,
and advertising.
A shifting business
Amazon's business is built on its e-commerce operations. Its hundreds of warehouses in the U.S.
and around the world give it the ability to stock a wide range of inventory and achieve the two-
day delivery promised by its Prime loyalty program. However, growth in direct sales -- meaning
transactions that Amazon handles entirely itself -- have slowed recently. In the last two quarters,
Amazon reported sales growth from online stores, excluding foreign exchange, of just 13% and
12% respectively, its two slowest quarters since it started reporting results in 2016.
That pace is notably behind e-commerce growth nationwide, which stood at 15.8% over that time
period. It also signals that Amazon is losing market share to rivals like Walmart and Target.
However, rather than being a sign of the company's challenges, that slowdown seems
representative of its success. Online retail is a notoriously low-margin business, often yielding
lower margins than traditional brick-and-mortar retail as online sellers have to deal with shipping
costs and process returns. Therefore, it's not a great way to generate profits.
Amazon now controls about half of online sales in the U.S., but the businesses enabled by its e-
commerce success are growing much faster and generating significant profits along the way.
Subscription services, which include Prime along with Kindle Unlimited, Amazon Video, and
Amazon Music, jumped 57% last quarter to $3.4 billion. Prime recently reached 100 million
members, showing how successful the loyalty program has been.
Third-party seller services, which include commissions, fulfillment, shipping fees, and payment
processing, may eventually be the company's biggest business, as sales in the category jumped
39% in the most recent quarter to $9.7 billion. Since Amazon's marketplace business relies on
infrastructure already in place to support the company's own e-commerce operations, it is likely
highly profitable, especially given that marketplace businesses like eBay tend to generate
significant profit margins.
Finally, advertising may now be Amazon's fastest-growing business, and one made possible by
its strength in e-commerce. In its most recent quarter, other revenue, which is primarily made up
advertising, jumped 132% to $2.2 billion. Over the last year Amazon has doubled the number of
sponsor ads in its searches, unlocking a potentially huge revenue stream, one that has driven tens
of billions in profits for tech giants Alphabet and Facebook.
Amazon doesn't report profits in those individual segments, but the bottom-line growth
from those businesses can be see in North American operating profits, which jumped from
$436 million to $1.8 billion in the second quarter. Though the Whole Foods
acquisition contributed to that improvement, it likely only added $250 million in operating
income at most during the period.
Don't forget AWS
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The range of possibilities for AMZN’s future fundamentals is unusually broad, especially given
that it's a major player in not one but two fast-growing industries.
We have outlined five key variables that investors need a view on to value the stock.
We estimate that AMZN is worth ~$770 using our base case assumptions, but much higher
valuations can be justified if a few key variables break in the right direction.
Amazon (AMZN) is a stock that investors dream on. The narrative of an increasingly dominant
Internet retailer with 20%-plus annual revenue growth is extremely powerful. And when coupled
with an equally explosive public cloud infrastructure business, the story becomes intoxicating.
That does not mean the stock is bound to be overpriced. What it does mean is that the range of
possibilities for AMZN’s future fundamentals is unusually broad.
Our experience with equity valuation leads us to conclude that AMZN’s businesses are far too
immature to have great confidence in any value estimate. The best we can do at this stage is to
outline the key variables that ultimately will dictate the worth of the company. We are forced to
continually make a judgment on the value of the stock relative to its price, but in this case we do
so with a larger than usual dose of humility.
Key variable #1 - ultimate ecommerce penetration across retail sectors
This array of variables is probably the most important determinant of future value. Over the past
few years, AMZN has made incursions into retail categories like grocery and pharmacy that
previously seemed off limits to substantial ecommerce penetration. We estimate that
approximately 13% of retail sales (excluding auto dealers and gasoline) will originate over the
Internet this year, up from 12% in the prior year. And it is clear that ecommerce penetration will
increase substantially over the coming decades. Our best guess at the moment is that nearly
half of all retail sales will originate over the Internet within the next 20 years. This includes items
that are ordered online but picked up in a physical store, which could become an increasingly
important source of ecommerce sales in categories like grocery.
For purposes of our model, we grouped retail industries into four different categories of
ecommerce potential. The first group includes automotive parts/accessories and tire stores,
electronics and appliance stores, and sporting goods, hobby, book and music stores. We estimate
that up to 90% of sales in these categories may eventually originate over the Internet, up from a
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collective 38% at present. Many of the goods in these categories don’t need to be seen, touched,
or tried prior to purchase. In the case of books and music, digital forms will account for an
increasing proportion of consumption. And the value to weight or volume ratios for most goods
in these categories don’t making shipping to individual homes uneconomical.
The second group includes furniture and home furnishings stores and clothing and accessories
retailers. The ultimate penetration of ecommerce for this group will be limited somewhat by the
occasional preference to see and experience the goods prior to purchase. Furniture specs can’t
tell you if an item will match a fabric or wood color already present in your home. And clothing
sizes are notorious for a lack of standardization. But as with the first group, the economics of
shipping are not an impediment. We estimate that up to 70% of sales in these categories may
ultimately originate over the Internet. This compares to an estimated 23% ecommerce
penetration in 2017.
The third group includes health and personal care stores, a.k.a. pharmacies, and other general
merchandise. An estimated 8% of pharmacy store sales will originate online this year. However,
this figure does not include prescription drug sales where the script was called in or transmitted
electronically by a doctor. The future of pharmacy ecommerce is among the most difficult to
forecast. Regulations vary by locality, but often require a human pharmacist to verify
prescriptions and be available to the recipient of the medication in case there are questions and to
inform them of potential issues with the medicine. And roughly one third of prescriptions already
are filled by mail (which are not included in the retail figures tracked), so in a sense ecommerce
already has penetrated much of the space. Nevertheless, AMZN appears to be evaluating an entry
in the retail pharmacy market and it is possible the business model of dispensing medication
eventually will be upended. For our model, we estimate that roughly 45% of pharmacy and
general merchandise sales may ultimately originate over the Internet. This figure was arrived at
as the result of the average of the other categories we evaluated, given the view that these sectors
have an average level of ecommerce potential, rather than an analysis of the pharmacy and
general merchandise opportunities themselves.
The final group includes food and beverage stores, primarily grocery, and building supplies and
materials retailers, a.k.a., hardware stores. Only about 2% of U.S. sales in these categories will
originate online this year, but there are signs that ecommerce adoption is set to accelerate. Online
grocery accounts for an estimated 17% of the market in South Korea and 7% of the market in the
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U.K. The key to online adoption of grocery sales in these markets undoubtedly is population
density. Due to the low value to weight and volume ratio of food, shipping groceries to the home
can be silly expensive vs. going to the store. However, the economics work better in more
densely populated areas where delivery distances are shorter and trucks can serve many homes
within a short time window. The Seoul metropolitan area has roughly 5,600 inhabitants per
square mile, while the London metropolitan area has approximately 4,300 inhabitants per square
mile. Seoul’s population density is comparable to that of New York City, while London’s
population density is somewhere between that of NYC and Chicago.
To estimate the potential of online grocery in the U.S. we started with a few assumptions (yes,
more assumptions!). First, we assume that population centers with the density of Seoul
eventually could see extremely high ecommerce penetration in the grocery category. Grocery
stores and food distribution centers equipped for home delivery likely would extend their
capabilities to include online ordering with in-store pickup. And this latter mode could make up
the bulk of ecommerce in grocery. Second, we assume that the ecommerce penetration potential
for all urban areas is determined by each area’s population density relative to those cities with
high early adoption of online grocery. It’s an admittedly simplistic assumption (some sort of step
function likely is more appropriate), but it allows us to frame the rough potential of a market like
the U.S. that's a collection of high- and low-population density areas. We evaluated 498 U.S.
urban areas with this framework and estimate that roughly 30% of grocery sales ultimately could
originate over the Internet. We assume a similar figure for the global grocery ecommerce
potential of key AMZN ecommerce markets.
The hardware space has had similarly low ecommerce penetration to date. The economics of
home delivery are in some cases challenged by the same value to volume/weight constraints that
impact grocery, and some of the general merchandise goods that used to be carried in hardware
stores long ago migrated to general merchandise retailers or online sellers. We peg the category’s
ecommerce penetration potential at 30%, in line with our expectations for grocery.
Key variable #2 - AMZN share of U.S. ecommerce
AMZN is the undisputed king of U.S. ecommerce, with an estimated market share of 34% based
upon the estimated gross market value of the products sold via AMZN’s marketplace. Based
upon our model, AMZN actually has increased its U.S. market share by more than 2 percentage
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points over the past year. Two factors will promote a stable or slightly increased share of the
market served from current levels. First, AMZN is not afraid to compete on price in selected
categories where it views market share as strategically important. The recent price cuts at newly
acquired Whole Foods are a good illustration of this approach. Second, an increasing proportion
of third-party sellers in the AMZN marketplace are utilizing the company’s fulfillment
capabilities. This extends AMZN’s involvement into online goods where the order originates
from outside the AMZN website. So the “effective” gross market value served by AMZN can
continue to grow even if its share of products sold via its own marketplace levels off. For
purposes of our base case model, we estimate a U.S. ecommerce market share of approximately
35%.
Key variable #3 - AMZN share of key non-U.S. ecommerce markets
AMZN’s market share varies across international markets, but the company is the leading
ecommerce retailer in Germany, the U.K., Japan and Canada. These markets account for over
80% of AMZN’s retail business outside the U.S. We estimate that collective retail ecommerce
sales in these countries will total $340B in 2017, and that AMZN’s international retail gross
market value will equal 19% of this amount. Notably, we do not explicitly model a contribution
from the world’s largest retail market, China. AMZN’s estimated share of the Chinese market is
a scant 1%, far behind market leaders Alibaba and JD.com that account for roughly two thirds of
retail ecommerce in the Middle Kingdom. We would expect AMZN’s share of its key
international markets to be stable or increase slightly given the same reasons cited for our U.S.
market share forecast. For purposes of our base case model, we estimate that international retail
gross market value served will equate to roughly 20% of the size of AMZN’s four biggest non-
U.S. markets.
Key variable #4 - AWS market share of IaaS
Amazon Web Services (AWS) is the current leader in offering public cloud computing and
storage. However, unlike with its ecommerce business, Amazon faces plenty of competition
from mega cap giants. Specifically, Microsoft’s Azure appears to be close behind AWS is terms
of application workloads served by their public cloud infrastructure. AWS currently accounts for
about 50% of the Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) market as defined by research firm Gartner,
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and we use that figure for our base case assumption. But we believe there's a significant risk that
competition drives this market share lower over time.
Key variable #5 - returns on invested capital for AMZN’s ecommerce and

cloud businesses
We are obsessive about ensuring that our valuation models reflect realistic assumptions
regarding future returns on capital. The preceding variables discussed have a broad range of
potential values, but analyses of capital return histories for selected public companies provide
excellent guidance for what AMZN investors can reasonably expect.
Our analyses of capital returns include some important adjustments that seek to overcome the
flaws of GAAP accounting. One of the biggest is a failure to capitalize R&D expenditures that
have long-lived (and sometimes perpetual) benefits. We capitalize R&D for all companies when
computing invested capital. And we prefer to begin our analyses of capital returns by examining
operating profit before R&D in relation to this adjusted measure of invested capital. As a result,
we arrive at after-tax capital returns that are much closer to economic reality than what is
computed relying upon GAAP measures.
Using our methodology, AMZN has demonstrated that it belongs among a class of superstar
companies whose market dominance enables them to earn returns well above their cost of capital
for several years. The chart below shows that AMZN’s ratio of operating profit before R&D to
invested capital has been just under 30% in recent years. This level is comparable to that of
Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) and Facebook (NASDAQ:FB), two other
companies that have built dominant platforms that benefit from a network effect.
However, each of these three companies plus Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Intel
(NASDAQ:INTC) have experienced a downtrend in this ratio over time as competition has
forced continued investment to preserve their market positions. Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) has
been a clear outlier in this regard, with stratospheric returns following the introduction of the
iPhone, but even they have seen capital returns drift lower over the past five years. So in
modeling this ratio for AMZN going forward, it would be imprudent to assume that it will rise
above 30%.
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For purposes of our model, we forecast the long-run ratio of operating profit before R&D to
invested capital at 30% for the ecommerce business, and at 20% for AWS. AWS is currently the
higher returning of AMZN’s two key businesses, but we view it as more vulnerable to long-run
competition.
Ratio of Operating Profit Before R&D to Invested Capital
Putting it All Together
The base case assumptions outlined above generate a share value of ~$770 for AMZN when
plugged into our detailed discounted cash flow model. But as stated earlier, the range of potential
values for AMZN is quite broad. For example, if we instead assume that AMZN captures 50% of
the U.S. ecommerce market (rather than 35%), the estimated share value jumps to $1,200. So
although AMZN stock does not currently appear attractive to us, we recognize that much higher
valuations can be justified if a few key variables break in the right direction.
We invite readers to test out their own assumptions using our model. The assumptions tab of our
AMZN model is available to subscribers of our marketplace service, Better Retirement Investing.
A free two-week trial is now offered.
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AMZN model - base case summary
Source: ArcPoint Advisor.
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AMZN model - base case financial and valuation detail
Amazon goes shopping for Future Retail, to buy 9.5% stake

MUMBAI | NEW DELHI: Amazon is set to acquire a minority stake in Future RetailNSE 2.39
% next week, potentially giving the ecommerce platform access to nearly a third of the country’s
organised food and grocery market through the Big Bazaar and Nilgiris supermarket chains and
other outlets.
The deal by Amazon’s investment arm is pegged at about Rs 2,500 crore. Future Retail has more
than 1,100 physical stores across India. “Amazon, through the foreign portfolio investor (FPI)
route, will buy about 9.5% stake in Future Retail and has already signed a term sheet. The deal
will be announced after board approval on November 14,” said one of two people aware of the
matter.
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Amazon and Future Retail, part of the Future Group, declined to comment. The companies
started exploring an alliance in January this year when Future Group founder Kishore Biyani first
met Amazon founder Jeff Bezos at his Seattle headquarters. That was followed by a series of
meetings by executives of both companies in India and the US. ET was the first to report on a
potential deal in February.
India allows 51% overseas investment in multibrand retail but Amazon is coming in through the
arm that’s registered as an FPI, the route through which it picked up a 5% stake in Shoppers Stop
last year. An FPI can acquire less than 10% in an Indian entity as a single firm while an Indian
company can dilute up to 49% stake to multiple FPIs. About two months ago, Amazon acquired
a stake in More supermarkets from Aditya Birla Retail through Witzig Advisory Services along
with co-investor Samara Capital.
It essentially means Amazon is taking a position in offline retail,” said Harminder Sahni, founder
of retail consultancy firm Wazir Advisors. “But it can’t just be a financial investment and they
will surely leverage Future Group's network and backend facilities for supply chain and other
operations.” Amazon has pledged to spend $5 billion in India and, having also received
government approval for its proposed $500 million entry into the food sector, is ramping up its
Amazon Pantry and Amazon Now initiatives.
Biyani’s Acquisition Spree

However, more than 95% of all retail sales in the country still take place at physical stores.
Biyani has created an offline retail model that combines food and non-food profitably. Its
strengths are apparel, general merchandise, luggage and footwear. In the past six years, Biyani
has acquired more than seven supermarket store chains to put together a total retail space of 14.8
million sq ft with a presence in 340 cities, a national presence that can only be matched by
Reliance Retail. In addition, the retailer also has data on 500 million consumers. Future also
owns EasyDay stores.
Morgan Stanley expects the online food and grocery to become India’s fastest-growing retail
segment, expanding at a compounded annual growth rate of 141% by 2020 and contributing $15
billion, or 12.5%, to overall online retail sales. Amazon’s aggression also represents its
escalating battl e with US rival Walmart, which bought a majority stake in rival online platform
Flipkart for $16 billion in May. Globally, both companies have been dabbling in cross-channel
acquisitions — Amazon acquired grocery chain Whole Foods for almost $14 billion and
launched the checkout-free Amazon Go store in Seattle last year.
Walmart has been on a similar shopping spree — acquiring 100% of Chinese ecommerce
business Yihaodian in 2015, having picked up a 51% stake in 2012. It acquired Jet.com .. in a
$3.3-billion buyout, followed by a strategic alliance with JD.com in 2016. Last year, it added
Moosejaw, ModCloth, Bonobos and Parcel to further consolidate its online-offline strategy.
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4.2 - Company Strategy
Amazon.com has joined the ranks of web-based retailers who have redefined the way
products are distributed to consumers worldwide. The company’s strategy, partly proactive but
to a large degree reactive to its customers, has made it one of the most sought after and often
duplicated business models in the world of retail. This growing company, who sold its first book
in 1995, has taken full advantage of the opportunities available within the industry it serves by
focusing in on the objectives of the organization alongside how it expects to reach its specific
goals. More than a decade later we bear witness to the impact that Amazon has made in the
world of businesses as well as the pressures it has put on brick-and-mortars to compete with its
level of service and convenience. In its original letter to shareholders in 1997 Amazon clearly
outlined its objectives, goals for the future, and its desire to economic longevity in a brief
passage which reads, Its All About the Long Term; a statement that has thus far withstood the test
of time.
Amazon’s growth and longevity are due to a large part on a strategic plan that was
developed early on. While this plan is undoubtedly as widespread as the organization itself, one
often-overlooked attributing factor to success is Amazon’s use of legislation and/or regulations
in protecting its competencies. The processes, which Amazon has perfected in the world of e-
commerce, have been in many cases patented by the organization, serving as an effective
measure to securing a competitive advantage within its industry and allowing it to protect
methods, which have increased value to its shareholders.
Amazon also benefits through their distinctive marketing tactics, which they
implemented effectively. The use of embedded marketing in its sales strategy has gained ground
for the organization, widening the gap between Amazon and its competitors. By personalizing
each customer’s shopping experience Amazon can market new products and goods to shoppers
by simply taking into account the buying patterns of each customer. While this is not a new
approach to marketing, Amazon has successfully transitioned this practice to the world of online
shopping. When utilizing Amazon.com, a shopper is more apt to consider recommendations
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provided to them if they are targeted to their specific needs. This is a much more sophisticated
and overall effective approach to up selling than methods employed by other online retailers both
past and present.
Amazon's focus on technology has been a great attributing factor to its overall success. By
continually developing a working model, the organization has yielded positive results while
increasing productivity and passing on greater savings and better service to their customers.
Amazon's dedication to its website, transaction-processing systems, and order fulfillment are all
examples of its strategic intent to both maintain and increase its customer base. By focusing on
its technological objectives the company has recognized and responded to the need of finding
effective methods of increasing traffic to its website while minimizing system interruptions due
to congestion.
Another important component to Amazon's success is its ability to create a strong brand
name, which has in turn produced a loyal consumer base. It is important to note that this has
been part of Amazon's strategy since its beginnings. This formula has also included a strong
relationship with suppliers, a sector which has grown significantly over the last few years.
Amazon’s distribution involves a multi-leveled e-commerce strategy that has grown into
one of the largest networks available to consumers on the web. By utilizing Amazon’s affiliate
program both individuals and businesses can take full advantage of Amazon’s platform to
introduce, sell, and build personalized web sites to promote their products. This has allowed the
company a greater amount of flexibility, permitting them to act as an intermediary between both
buyers and sellers. Amazon’s marketplace therefore allows for both B2C and B2B transactions,
illustrating the organizations dedication to improving upon its processes. This is in many ways
advantageous to the organization, as it does not require the company to hold large amounts of
inventory for every sale, which Amazon is credited, enabling Amazon to maintain prices, which
are attractive to consumers.
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4.3-FEATURES
1. Amazon Prime - This is a big customer acquisition tool for Amazon. Once registered a
customer will keep coming back to Amazon. The customer has invested $79 to
subscribe to a service. His goal is to derive maximum value of the service. This results
in more sales for Amazon.
2. "Frequently Bought Together" and "Bought together" - This is a feature where
people are given product suggestions based on what they are interested in. The quality
of suggestions ensure that only relevant product suggestions are made.
3. Large product catalog - You can almost get everything on Amazon. (Not everything
but one of the largest catalog on the Internet"
4. Search - People are not lost in the large catalog of products and are provided with good
search results
5. Product Reviews by customers - Reviews helps people make decisions. An additional
service that Amazon provides and makes it easier for customers to select a product.
6. Amazon 1 click ordering - Conversions are crucial in the payment process. 1-click
ensures there are no drop offs there.
7. Search Results - Amazon ranks high in search results for various reasons. It has many
inbound links, has quality content, good product description, almost everything about
the product.
It is not just the website, but many more features/services that Amazon provides
1. Excellent customer service - Amazon is #1 in customer service Amazon #1 In

Customer Service, But Will This Lead To Sustainable Loyalty? - Forbes
2. Excellent Supply Chain - Amazon invests heavily in its Supply Chain and is
considered one of the best Supply Chains in the world.
3. Market Place - I am unsure about the % impact on sales, but this is definitely a feature
that helps increase sales
Orders and Shipments
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1. Shipment Updates via Text
Amazon offers free tracking on all orders, which is fantastic. But if you live in an apartment like
me, you’re tired of logging in and refreshing the status every few hours to see if your packages
have been delivered yet.
Or you live in a shady neighborhood and need to know when packages are delivered so you can
notify your friend to pick it up for safe keeping while you’re at work.
Just go to the Shipment Update Settings page and add as many phone numbers as you want.
Whenever Amazon detects a change in package status, updates are sent by text message (but
only between 4 AM and 5 PM EST). Message and data rates may apply.
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2. Order History Reports
On the Order History Reports page, you can export a CSV file that includes all of your
Amazon purchases between a start and end date. CSV files are viewable in all spreadsheet apps.
Other report types include refunds, returns, or everything.
You can use these reports to see how much you spent on Amazon in a year, which could
possibly open your eyes to a potential spending addiction.
How to See Exactly What You Spent on Amazon Last Year (or All Time) How to See Exactly
What You Spent on Amazon Last Year (or All Time)How much do you think you spent on
Amazon last year? Here's how to find out. But be warned, the answer may shock you!READ
MORE
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3. Gifting Addresses
Amazon offers two interesting features that work together:
1. You can set a default shipping address for your account.

2. You can connect with Friends and Family members.
When you check out, the “Select a shipping address” section of the process will have the option
to select a recipient from among your Friends and Family. The recipient’s default shipping
address also acts as their Gifting Address, which is where the package will go.4. Amazon
Lockers
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Amazon Lockers are bright yellow locker stations available all around the United States, though
most concentrated in metropolitan areas. When checking out, you can have packages delivered to
one of these lockers — almost like a temporary P.O. box.
This is an excellent option if you live in a neighborhood with high rates of theft. Packages must
be picked up within three days of delivery.
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5. Free Cloud Storage
All Amazon accounts receive 5 GB of free cloud storage on Amazon Drive. This is a private
file storage service similar to Dropbox, Google Drive, and OneDrive. If you have a Prime
membership, you instead get unlimited photo space and 5 GB of space for files and videos.
If you need more space, paid plans start at $12 per year for 100 GB. After that, storage limits
increase in 1 TB increments with pricing at approximately $60 per year per TB.
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6. Coupon Discounts
Amazon has a coupons section where you can find discounts on all kinds of items: health,
personal care, food and beverages, electronics, pet supplies, home goods, and more.
Most of the coupons provide tremendous value. For example, a quick peek shows a $2 Off
coupon for a Head & Shoulders shampoo product priced at $7. Another coupon shows 30% Off
for a 12-pack of Starbucks Refreshers priced at $18.
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7. Deals on Used Products
You probably already know about Amazon’s Deals, which include Deals of the Day, Lightning
Deals, and Prime Early Access Deals.
But have you heard of Warehouse Deals? These are discounts on used and open-box products
sold in one of four conditions: Like New, Very Good, Good, and Acceptable. These are a great
way to save money for very little risk.
Payment Methods
8. Amazon Allowance
Let’s say you have kids and you want to give them the freedom to shop on Amazon, but with an
upper limit on how much they can spend. You can do this through Amazon Allowance.
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First, set up an Amazon account for the recipient. Then, use Amazon Allowance to deposit funds
into their Gift Card Balance. They can shop freely and never spend more than what’s on their
Gift Card. Deposits can be one-time or recurring.
9. Amazon Coins
If you have any of Amazon’s many devices (e.g. Fire Tablet, Fire TV, Kindle Fire, etc.) and
shop on the Amazon Appstore for apps, games, and in-app purchases, then you can stretch your
money further with Amazon Coins. You buy Coins with cash and 100 Coins are worth $1 in the
store — but when bought in bulk, Coins can provide a discount up to 25 percent.
10. Amazon Pay
Do you have credit cards and bank accounts tied to your Amazon account? Amazon Pay lets you
use those payment methods when shopping on non-Amazon e-commerce sites, as long as those
sites accept Amazon Pay.
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The benefit is that you don’t have to type in your credit card numbers and bank account numbers
on those sites, which limits the risk of identity theft. Amazon keeps your details secure.
Entertainment
11. Amazon TV Rentals
If you thought video streaming was only available to Prime Video subscribers, here’s a
surprise: it’s not! You can rent and stream movies, individual TV episodes, or entire TV seasons.
You have 30 days from time of rental to start watching. Once started, you have 48 hours (for
movies) or 14 days (for episodes and seasons) to finish watching.
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12. Book Previews
Thinking of buying a book but not sure if you’ll like it? If it has a Kindle version available,
Amazon will grant you a sneak peek using its online book reader. The length of the preview
varies, but I’ve often been able to read at least the entire first chapter this way. To launch the
online book reader, just click on the book’s cover art.
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13. Kindle Ebook Returns
If you buy a Kindle ebook, get through the first few chapters, and realize it’s not what you
expected, then you can always return it for a full refund — but only within seven days of the
initial purchase. If you wait too long, you’re stuck with it.
Miscellaneous
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14. Wish Lists and Idea Lists
When you come across something you want on Amazon, fighting the urge to buy it on the spot
can be tough. One trick for spending less on Amazon is to utilize its Wish Lists feature: save
it on a list for at least one month, and if you still want it, then buy it.
15. Baby and Wedding Registry
If you’re pregnant and/or engaged, you can use Amazon as a Baby Registry and a Wedding
Registry. Most people already shop on Amazon so this makes it easy for everyone involved. If
Amazon doesn’t carry an item you want, you can add items from other e-commerce sites.
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The Baby Registry offers a 90-day return policy while the Wedding Registry offers a 10 percent
discount for all items shipped by Amazon (20 percent discount if you’re a Prime member). Get
started with our guide to starting a registry on Amazon.
16. Textbook Rentals
Are you a college student? Textbook costs can eat away at your budget, causing you to spend far
more money than expected. Not only are they expensive, but they have terribleresale value.
To rent a textbook, add it to your cart but select Rent instead of Buy New. You’ll see a due date,
which is usually at the end of the current semester. Shipping for textbook returns is free. If you
don’t return it on time, you’ll be charged a 15-day extension fee, then the book’s purchase price.
17. Follow Brands and Interests
A feature called Amazon Follow lets you “follow” various authors, brands, interests, and even
other customers on Amazon. Doing so alerts you when new products are released, or in the case
of customers, when they post new product reviews.
49
18. Run Giveaways and Sweepstakes
Want to run a giveaway or sweepstakes to promote your event, company, or organization?

Amazon can do all of the hard work for you. Just pick a prize and set up the giveaway details.
Amazon will handle the entry requirements, winner selection, and prize fulfillment so you have
nothing to worry about.
19. Amazon Help Co-Pilot
The immensely helpful Co-Pilot feature allows an Amazon support agent to take control of your
web browser to help you out in a more direct way (e.g. show how to use a site feature).
50
Before control is given, the support agent will share an activation code that you must type in to
confirm permissions. The code only lasts for five minutes, at which point you’ll have to re-enter
another activation code to extend permissions.
20. Review Pre-Release Products
Have you heard of Amazon Vine? It’s a special program where Amazon customers can test and
share their opinions on newly released (or yet to be released) products for free. This is an invite-
only program that targets customers who regularly write in-depth product reviews. Perhaps it
will give you the necessary motivation to take product reviews more seriously.
51
CHAPTER 5 –LIMITATIONS
As a company, Amazon takes many risks. Those risks are outlined in their 2006 Annual Report
and can be evaluated in terms of whether or not they influence the decision to create or modify
the company’s database. Those influencing risks include: intense competition; expansion into
new products, services and geographic areas; system interruption, lack of integration and
redundancy in their systems; liability for breaches of security of our system; and risks due to the
variety of payment methods accepted by Amazon. The other risks mentioned in the Annual
Report, such as experiencing significant fluctuations in operating results; in making commercial
agreements, and other business relationships; and significant indebtedness, affect the company
but would not affect the database per se.
Since 1995, when Amazon first opened shop, there has been a rise in online retail
websites especially from many of the already established brick and mortar retailers such as
Barnes and Noble and Wal-Mart. These retailers can draw Amazon’s customers away from
Amazon by providing similar products at relatively low prices, familiarity of brand names and
stores at which to shop and/or pick up items. Wal-Mart has recently begun to offer online
ordering and in-store pickup, something that makes it easy to order items and then get them soon.
Amazon relies only on shipping to the customer so the customer must wait to receive their
product. Most people are familiar with Barnes & Noble so are comfortable shopping with a
known retailer, while Amazon had to develop that trust with excellent service and availability.
Amazon’s database needs to be easily accessible and easy to search by Amazon’s customer to
keep customers coming back to Amazon to shop.
Return customers are not all that Amazon relies upon; it is constantly trying to get new
customers by expanding into new areas such as Clothing, Jewelry, downloadable music, and
other items. Amazon is also trying to be accessible around the world by creating websites that
are in multiple languages as well as develop global shipping and warehousing abilities. This
creates challenges for the database because it needs to be able to work in multiple languages with
data in various languages and alphabets. These challenges that are faced within the database also
challenge their overall system or systems if they are using multiple systems.
52
The biggest threat to their system is system failure or shutdown, which would make them,
as an online retailer, go dark. They must be constantly aware of the “health” of their system to
keep their virtual doors open. If they are relying on multiple systems, the integration of those
systems is also of primary importance. To lose sales because one system cannot talk to another
is disastrous. The database also must be constantly watched to make sure it is smoothly
connecting to or working with their system. The database must also be secure, as should their
system. Amazon needs to make sure that information shared or stored in their database is
accessible only to those allowed to see the information. No one should be able to access the
database of products unless properly signed on and no one but the customer and the company
should be able to see the customer’s sales, orders or purchase information. Payment information,
if stored on the database, must also have the utmost security. If customers were to have their
identity stolen due to a weakness of Amazon’s security, Amazon may be liable for what is stolen
or lost.
The global nature of Amazon’s business also makes it at risk due to the many types of
payments that are taken to pay for purchases. Prices in the database must reflect the current
value of the items, no matter what currency is being listed. The database needs to be flexible to
account for large changes in foreign currency exchange rates as well as be easily modified to
change prices as needed. As a global retailer, Amazon must be able to take many different types
of payment from across the world. Their database needs to accept those payments as well as
store different types of currencies. If Amazon didn’t want to play in the global market, it could
reduce its business risks but wouldn’t be able to compete with many non-American companies.
Amazon knew the business risks when it started and any database used by Amazon must be
reflective of the risks taken and how to minimize them for the company.
1. Sometimes products couldn't reach on time as per their expected schedule
2. Their track order facility is not so good. It doesn't work sometimes
53
3.They deliver products only in India. No service available outside India even if you are willing
to pay extra money. The service is not available for certain areas in India also. You can check
availability by giving the place pin code in their site
2. I don't trust other sellers on AMazon. If it's not sold by Cloudtail or any other authentic sellers
- than I don't buy from Amazon generally. Their delivery is sometimes late & sometimes items
are not great.
3) Amazon's price advantage is slowly coming down. There used to be a great price difference
between Amazon & offline retailers - not any more (my observation
5 Price & Delivery of FLIPKART is now becoming as good as (sometimes better) than Amazon
, hence you can always give that a try.One of the major complaints I have been hearing recently
is their service. Sometimes, the products are delivered but the packages are empty making the
customers stunned. The customer service does not respond properly for this. They ask for proof
that it was really not delivered. Amazon needs to do something on how and what delivery boys
are doing.
7.. The service is not upto the mark in villages when compared to the urban areas. Sometimes
they take lot of time to deliver products in rural areas
8. The minimum order for free home delivery is increased to 500/- recently while some other
sites are doing it for lesser than that
9.You can’t feel the product on Amazon ,major issue in case of clothing and footwear
shopping10, Online security becomes a major issue day by day as there are much increase in
fraudulent activities whole doing shopping on Amazon
11.Tax structure gstin or other taxes are not as simple
12.Rates could be higher than many other sites. A few sellers change for that higher marketing
charges on Online Shopping: Shop Online for Mobiles, Books, Watches, Shoes and More;
54
some other sellers make use of computer driven automated costs. Computerized costs will often
work in a buyer’s favor, and then the cost also can immediately leap up—sometimes in moment.
Absolutely no unified worldwide site, or blended global company. Each country website is
separate. It is Online Shopping: Shop Online for Mobiles, Books, Watches, Shoes and More for
India and .com for US. Amazon could have used its global appeal for a unified global customer
base. Don’t assume all sellers will ship worldwide.
5.1 SWOT ANALYSIS OF AMAZON
Strengths
 Being the world’s leading online retailer, Amazon derives its strengths primarily from a
three-pronged strategic thrust on cost leadership, differentiation, and focus. This strategy
has resulted in the company reaping the gains from this course of action and has helped
its shareholders derive value from the company.
 Amazon primarily derives its competitive advantage from leveraging IT (Information
Technology) and its use of e-Commerce as a scalable and an easy to ramp up platform
that ensures that the company is well ahead of its competitors.
 One of the key strengths of Amazon is that it enjoys top of the mind recall from
consumers globally and this recognition has helped it enter new markets, which were
hitherto out of bounds for many e-Commerce companies.
 Using superior logistics and distribution systems, the company has been able to actualize
better customer fulfillment and this has resulted in Amazon deriving competitive
advantage over its rivals.
Amazon Prime is a paid subscription service offered by Amazon that gives users access to
services that would otherwise be unavailable, or cost extra, to the typical Amazon customer. This
includes free two-day delivery (one-day in some areas), rapid delivery for a fee through Prime
Now, streaming music and video, and other benefits. Amazon Prime also includes alternative
delivery methods through their service called Amazon Key and the proposed Amazon Prime Air.
In April 2018, Amazon reported that Prime had more than 100 million subscribers worldwide.[2]
Weaknesses
 In recent years, Amazon as part of its diversification strategy has been “spreading itself
too thin” meaning that it has allowed its focus to waver from its core competence of
retailing books online and allowed itself to venture into newer focus areas. While this
55
might be a good strategy from the risk diversification perspective, Amazon has to be
cognizant of losing its strategic advantage as it moves away from its core competence.
 As Amazon offers free shipping to its customers, it is in the danger of losing its margins
and hence, might not be able to optimize on costs because of this strategy.
 Considering the fact that Amazon is an online only retailer, the single-minded focus on
online retailing might “come in the way” of its expansion plans particularly in emerging
markets.
 One of the biggest weaknesses and something that has been oft commented upon by
analysts and industry experts is that Amazon operates in near zero margin business
models that have severely dented its profitability and even though the company has high
volumes and huge revenues, this has not translated into meaningful profits for the
company.
Opportunities
 By rolling out its online payment system, Amazon has the opportunity to scale up
considerably considering the fact that concerns over online shopping as far as security
and privacy are concerned are among the topmost issues on the minds of consumers.
Further, this would improve the company’s margins as it lets it reap the advantages of
using its own payment gateway.
 Another opportunity, which Amazon can capitalize on, relates to it rolling out more
products under its own brand instead of being a forwarding site for third party products.
In other words, it can increase the number of products under its own brand instead of
merely selling and stocking products made by its partners.
 Amazon can increase the portfolio of its offerings wherein it stocks more products than
the norm currently which places it in a position of strength and comfort as this can
translate into higher revenues.
 The fourth opportunity, which Amazon has, is in terms of expanding its global footprint
and open more sites in the emerging markets, which would certainly give it an edge in the
uber-competitive online retailing market.
Threats
 One of the biggest threats to Amazon’s success is the increasing concern over online
shopping because of identity theft and hacking which leaves its consumer data exposed.
Therefore, Amazon has to move quickly to allay consumer concerns over its site and
ensure that online privacy and security are guaranteed.
 Because of its aggressive pricing strategies, the company has had to face lawsuits from
publishers and rivals in the retailing industry. The obsessive focus on cost leadership that
Amazon follows has become a source of trouble for the company because of the
competitors being upset with Amazon taking away the business from them.
 Finally, Amazon faces significant competition from local online retailers who are more
agile and nimble when compared to its behemoth type of strategy. This means that the
56
company cannot lose sight of its local market conditions in the pursuit of its global
strategy.
Early history
In 2005, Amazon announced the creation of Amazon Prime, a membership service offering free
two-day shipping within the contiguous United States on all eligible purchases for a flat annual
fee of $79 (equivalent to $101 in 2018), and discounted one-day shipping rates. Amazon
launched the program in Germany, Japan, and the United Kingdom in 2007; in France (as
"Amazon Premium") in 2008, in Italy in 2011, in Canada in 2013,[ in India in July 2016 and in
Mexico in March 2017.According to Amazon, there are now Prime members in 17 countries in
North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific.
From 2012 - 2016
Amazon Prime membership in Australia, Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom, India and the
United States also provides the instant streaming of selected films and TV programs at no
additional cost. In November 2011, it was announced that Prime members had access to the
Kindle Owners' Lending Library, which allows users to borrow up to one a month of specified
popular Kindle e-books.People with an email address at an academic domain such
as .edu or .ac.uk, typically students, are eligible for Prime Student privileges, including discounts
on Prime membership.
In March 2014, Amazon increased the annual US membership fee for Amazon Prime from $79
to $99 Shortly after this change, Amazon announced Prime Music, providing unlimited, ad-free
music streaming.[14] In November 2014, Amazon added Prime Photos, adding unlimited storage
of files deemed to be photographs in the users' Amazon Drive. Amazon began offering free
same-day delivery to Prime members in 14 United States metropolitan areas in May 2015.
In April 2015, Amazon started a trial partnership with Audi and DHL in order to deliver directly
into the trunks of Audi cars, available in the Munich, Germany area to some Audi-connected car
users.
Amazon announced that July 15, 2015, its 20th birthday, would be "Amazon Prime Day", with
deals for prime members similar to those on Black Friday.[20] That month Amazon Prime
announced signed up Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May, formerly of
BBC's Top Gear, to begin working on The Grand Tour, which was released in 2016. On July 13,
2016, Amazon Prime said customers placed 60 percent more orders worldwide on "Prime Day".
In December 2015, Amazon stated that "tens of millions" of people were Amazon Prime
members. Amazon Prime added 3 million members during the third week of December
2015. That month Amazon announced the creation of the Streaming Partners Program, a
subscription service that provides Amazon Prime subscribers with additional streaming video
services. Among the programming providers involved in the program are Showtime, Starz (with
additional content from sister network Encore), Lifetime Movie Club (containing recent original
movie titles from Lifetime Television and Lifetime Movie Network), Smithsonian Earth,
and Qello Concerts.
57
2016 onward[edit]
In January 2016, Amazon Prime reached 54 million members according to a report from
Consumer Intelligence Research Partners. Several reports in January 2016 said that nearly half of
all U.S. households are members of Amazon Prime.
In April 2016, Amazon announced same-day delivery would be expanded to include the areas of
Charlotte, Cincinnati, Fresno, Louisville, Milwaukee, Nashville, Central New Jersey, Raleigh,
Richmond, Sacramento, Stockton, and Tucson, bringing total coverage to 27 metro areas.
In September 2016, Amazon launched a restaurant delivery service for Prime members
in London, England, with free delivery on all orders over £15.
In September 2016, Amazon subsidiary Twitch announced features available to users with an
Amazon Prime subscription (Twitch Prime), including monthly offers of video games and add-
on content, and the ability to purchase a free subscription to a user's channel once per-month.
In December 2016, Amazon began offering Prime membership for an alternative monthly,
instead of yearly fee, of $10.99 per month, increased to $12.99 in February 2018.
In December 2016, Amazon announced Wickedly Prime, an own-brand line of food and
beverages available to Prime members.
Amazon announced , a service that lets customers try on clothes before they pay, in June 2017.
In 2017, Amazon announced the Prime Exclusive Phone program, which offers
some smartphones displaying Amazon ads on the lock screen from companies
including LG, Motorola and Nokia at a discount
In May 2018 Amazon increased the annual US Prime membership fee from $99 to $119.
Prime Music[edit]
Prime Music is a Spotify/Google Play Music competitor that offer a library of millions of songs
to Amazon Prime members at no added cost. Amazon Prime members can stream and download
music for free. Prime has a collection of over 2 million songs available for download without
advertisements. Consumers who need a larger music library can subscribe to Amazon Music
Unlimited with over 10 million songs for $7.99 and $9.99 for non-Prime members.
Prime Video
The service debuted on September 7, 2006 as Amazon Unbox in the United States. On
September 4, 2008, the service was renamed Amazon Video on Demand. The Unbox name still
refers to the local program, which as of August 2014 is no longer available for downloading
purchased instant videos. On February 22, 2011, the service rebranded as Amazon Instant Video
and added access to 5,000 movies and TV shows for Amazon Prime members.
Prime Reading
58
Beginning in October 2016, Prime members in the U.S. receive access to a rotating set of Kindle
e-books through Prime Reading. Some magazines and travel guides are also available through
the service. Prime Reading is unrelated to the Kindle Owners Lending Library, Kindle
Unlimited, and Kindle First, all of which continue to be available.
Prime Pantry
In April 2014, Amazon began a service for shipping non-perishable grocery store items into a
single box for delivery for a flat fee. The service is available in the United States, the United
Kingdom, Germany, Austria, India, Japan, Italy, Spain, and France. This is an Amazon Prime
member exclusive service that helps prime subscribers purchase household goods and get them
delivered fast. At a flat rate of $6, Amazon Prime members can enjoy shipping a box of
"pantries" to their homes. As you shop, Amazon quantifies the space each item takes up so that
you can assess the number of boxes you need before check off and shipping.[citation needed]
Prime Now
In December 2014, Amazon announced that as a benefit to Prime members located in parts
of Manhattan and New York Citythe capability to get products delivered to them within one hour
for a fee of $7.99, or within two hours for no additional fee. As of 2014, 25,000 daily essential
products were available with this delivery service. In February 2015, the service was extended to
include all of Manhattan. By mid-2016, it had been expanded in the United States to include
parts of Chicago, Miami, Baltimore,[44] Seattle, Dallas, Atlanta, Austin, Nashville, Portland, San
Antonio, and Tampa. Outside of the United States, it has expanded to parts of the United
Kingdom Italy, Germany, France, Spain, Japan, and Singapore. To meet the on-demand needs of
Prime Now, Amazon further launched Amazon Flex, a platform for independent contractors to
provide delivery services.
Amazon Key
In-Home
In October 2017, Amazon.com added an option for Prime members to get in-home deliveries by
its Amazon Flex contractors, who gain entry using a one-time code.[56] The service, Amazon
Key, became available for customers in the residing in 37 United States metro areas in April
2018. As of 2018 the service required a Kwikset or Yale smart lock and a special version of
Amazon's Cloud Cam security camera.
Customers are given a time window of four hours for the package to be delivered. Once the
courier opens the door, the Cloud Cam records a clip until the door is locked, which is sent to the
customer's smartphone. Participants in the service can also use the Amazon Key companion app
for iOS and Android to lock and unlock the door, monitor the camera, and issue virtual keys.
59
A month after the service was launched, a security expert found a flaw, since patched, in the
system which would freeze the camera and stop image transmission.
In-Car
Amazon Key In-Car is a service allowing owners of vehicles with OnStar (that are 2015+
models) or Volvo on Call, to get packages delivered in their vehicle's trunk. The service is
available in the same areas as Amazon Key's In-Home delivery, but requires no additional
hardware. Customers are provided with a four-hour delivery window. During that time, their
vehicle must be located in a publicly accessible area.
In-Garage In 2015, Amazon launched its own artificial holiday with Amazon Prime Day,
offering deep discounts and deals only to people who were members of Prime at the time.
In 2018, Prime Day launched with frustration as the site was unable to handle the volume of
traffic. To prevent a total crash, Amazon set up a "fall-back" page filled with pictures of dogs.
They also cut international traffic while they hastily installed temporary servers to accommodate
the large number of shoppers; this restored full functionality. The glitch had little impact on
sales; the 2018 event broke the previous year's record.
Chapter6 -RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Methodology is the systematic analysis of the methods applied to a field of study. It comprises
the theoretical analysis of the body of methods and the principles associated with a branch of
knowledge.
A research methodology does not set out to provide solutions. Therefore, it is not the same thing
as method. Instead, it offers the theoretical base for understanding which method, set of methods
or so called “best practices” can be applied to specific case. For example; it may indicate the
method that can be used to collect data to solve the problem of declining sales.
Merriam-Webster Dictionary provides two definitions on research methodology as follows:
1. “The analysis of the principles of methods, rules, and postulates employed by a

discipline”.
2. “The systematic study of methods that are, can be, or have been applied within a
discipline”.
60
We use research methodology to find out what type of data will be used in our research.
Following are the two types of data.
1. PRIMARY DATA: Primary data are directly collected by the researcher from their
original sources. In this case, the researcher can collect the required data precisely
according to his research needs, he can collect them when he wants them and in the form
he needs them. But the collection of primary data is costly and time consuming. Yet, for
several types of social science research required data are not available from secondary
sources and they have to be directly gathered from the primary sources.
2. SECONDARY DATA: Secondary data means data that are already available i.e., they
refer to the data which have already been collected and analyzed by someone else. When
the researcher utilizes secondary data then he has to look into various sources from where
he can obtain them. In this case he is certainly not confronted with the problems that are
usually associated with the collection of original data.
In my research I will use both primary and v secondary data
61
CHAPTER 7- DATA INTERPRETATION
Age *
o 15-20 years
o 20-25 years
o 25-30 years
o 30 above
Gender*
o female
o male
o none
Have You Known about Amazon ?

o Yes
o No
o Maybe
Do You Have Installed The Amazon App?

o Yes
o No
o Maybe
How Frequently Do You Use Amazon App ?

o 1-20%
o 20-40%
o 40-80%
o 80 and above
62
Do You Like Online Shopping ?
o Yes
o No
o Maybe
Which Online Portal Do You Prefer For Online Shopping ?

o amazon
o flipkart
o snapdeal
o other
Do You Like Amazon Service ?

o Yes
o No
o Maybe
Do You Think Amazon Needs To Improve Their Product And Services ?

o Yes
o No
o Maybe
Would You Like To Invest In Gold Membership ?

o Yes
o No
o Maybe
Do You Think Amazon Need To Increase Their Brands ?

o Yes
o No
o Maybe
Do Have An Idea About Amazon Prime ?

o Yes
o No
o Maybe
63
Do You Think Amazon Offers And Discounts Are Interesting Than Any
Other Shopping Sites ?
o Yes
o No
o Maybe
How Much Do you Rate Amazon App?

o 0
o 1
o 2
o 3
o 4
o 5
o 6
o 7
o 8
o 9
o 10
64
CHAPTER 8 – DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION
 Age
 Gender
65
 Have You Known about Amazon ?
 Do You Have Installed The Amazon App
66
 Do You Have Installed The Amazon App?
 How Frequently Do You Use Amazon App ?
67
 Do You Like Online Shopping ?
68
 Which Online Portal Do You Prefer For Online
Shopping ?
 Do You Like Amazon Service ?
69
 Do You Think Amazon Needs To Improve Their
Product And Services ?
 Would You Like To Invest In Gold Membership ?
70
 Do You Think Amazon Need To Increase Their
Brands ?
 Do Have An Idea About Amazon Prime ?
71
 Do You Think Amazon Offers And Discounts Are
Interesting Than Any Other Shopping Sites ?
 How Much Do you Rate Amazon App?
72
CHAPTER 9 -CONCLUSION
Amazon.com is a public owned company, which focuses on employees and excellent services. It
is team oriented organized by product. Amazon’s web site offers the ability to present a broad
range of merchandise. Well organized and easy to navigate help and FAQ pages make the
difference in smooth shopping experience. Building a customer community helps to keep
customers coming back to the site. It also helps shoppers identify with the brand. Amazon has
built a loyal customer base of millions, thanks to a highly efficient web buying experience and
outstanding customer service. With some controlling interest in popular Web sites, word-of-
mouth from users, the ease of communication using e-mail and options such as gift certificates,
Amazon.com has created one of the most popular home-shopping sites today.
73
Chapter 10-BIBLIOGRAPHY
 https://www.google.com/
 https://in.search.yahoo.com/yhs/search;_ylt=AwrxgurN3olcNzIAQh3nH
gx.;_ylc=X1MDMjExNDcyMzU1OQRfcgMyBGZyA3locy1wdHktcHR5
X2V4dGVuc2lvbgRncHJpZANPZ0prRmllZ1RtR2dtRUs2VUZkMFZB
BG5fcnNsdAMwBG5fc3VnZwMxBG9yaWdpbgNpbi5zZWFyY2gueW
Fob28uY29tBHBvcwMwBHBxc3RyAwRwcXN0cmwDMARxc3RybAM
yNQRxdWVyeQNhcnRpY2xlcyUyMG9uJTIwYW1hem9uJTIwBHRfc3
RtcAMxNTUyNTM5MzY4?p=articles+on+amazon+&fr2=sb-
top&hspart=pty&hsimp=yhs-
pty_extension&param1=20190301&param2=20d30dfb-1577-467b-8d62-
613743acc63f&param3=converter_~IN~appfocus1&param4=d-ccc7-
lp0-dsf_converter--
bb9~Chrome~articles+on+amazon+india~FD23D2B4796C831419B1D6
0BF87B9B20
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon_(company)
 economictimes.indiatimes.com/topic/Amazon-India
74

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“Case Study On Amazon”

ROLL. NO. TYMS051

Prof. Mrs.Sajitha.S Kumar

Course coordinator Principal

Sr. no Name of Examinar signature Date

I would like to thank my Principal, Dr.ZarineBathenafor providing the necessary

I would also like to express my sincere gratitude towards my project guide

Providing or participating in online marketplaces, which process third-party business-to-

Business-to-business buying and selling;

Business-to-business (B2B) electronic data interchange

Engaging in pretail for launching new products and services

Online financial exchanges for currency exchanges or trading purposes.

Industry: Online Retailing

Annual Revenue: $61.09 Billion

Famous For: Being the world’s largest online retailer

How Amazon Got Started

Amazon startup story

From an interview with Jeff Bezos, for the Academy of Achievement:

Companies Amazon Has Acquired:

o 1998: PlanetAll, Junglee, Bookpages.co.uk (later became Amazon UK).

 To study about amazon.in

 To study the swot analysis

 To study problems faced by the company

Chapter 3 –Literature review

by Cat Zakrzewski, The Washington Post, 13 March 2019

Amazon's Alexa Has 80,000 Apps and No Runaway Hit

Amazon's Alexa Has 80,000 Apps and No Runaway Hit

by Akhil Arora, 13 March 2019

by Akhil Arora, 12 March 2019

Amazon Said to Lift Restrictions on Sellers Criticised as Anti-Competitive

Amazon Said to Lift Restrictions on Sellers Criticised as Anti-Competitive

by Reuters, 12 March 2019

Amazon Domain Battle Rages on as Internet Overseer Postpones Decision

Amazon Domain Battle Rages on as Internet Overseer Postpones Decision

by Reuters, 12 March 2019

by Gadgets 360 Staff, 12 March 2019

US Senator Proposes Breaking Up Amazon, Facebook, Google

US Senator Proposes Breaking Up Amazon, Facebook, Google

by Brian Fung, Tony Romm, The Washington Post, 09 March 2019

by Akhil Arora, 08 March 2019

The Best Media Streaming Devices for Your TV

by Ali Pardiwala, 07 March 2019

Amazon to Close US Pop-Up Shops as It Opens More Book Stores

Amazon to Close US Pop-Up Shops as It Opens More Book Stores

by Associated Press, 07 March 2019

by Akhil Arora, 06 March 2019

by Tasneem Akolawala, 06 March 2019

CHAPTER 4- SCOPE OF THE STUDY

4.1 - An Update on Amazon’s Strategic Plan

Amazon’s Corporate-Level Strategy — and What It Means for Retailers

New Loyalty Study Helps Explain Amazon’s Success

1.KNOW WHAT THE CUSTOMERS NEED

In addition to understanding your customers’ wants and needs, understand what

3. Get obsessive with customer service.

5. Create a comprehensive CRM strategy.

Strategy: An Eye on the Future

Don't forget AWS

Key variable #1 - ultimate ecommerce penetration across retail sectors

Key variable #2 - AMZN share of U.S. ecommerce

Key variable #3 - AMZN share of key non-U.S. ecommerce markets

Key variable #4 - AWS market share of IaaS

Key variable #5 - returns on invested capital for AMZN’s ecommerce and