Impact of E-Commerce on Amazon
Existing E-Commerce sites
For around 2 decades or so e-commerce has proved to be a success for businesses. It has changed the way that business and consumers work and operate. Companies such as eBay and Amazon have become a success because of the high demand that high-street market places can’t provide. eBay and Amazon are some of the more popular e-commerce sites as they only operate online with no stores anywhere in the world. They are some companies which started before the internet came about such as Asda or Tesco’s so they have adapted and incorporated an e-commerce site in order to keep up with the trend, consumer way and demand.
Amazon
Amazon is an e-commerce company founded in the United States of America in 1994 by Jeff Bezos and was launched in 1995. Amazon was very well known since it was first brought to the public eye, as it was one of the first big companies to sell goods on the internet. It started out as an online bookstore which then quickly developed and started to add other items such as VHS tapes, DVDs, CDs, video games and the list goes on.
Amazon is now one of the biggest online sellers today, offering over two hundred million different products.
How it works
Amazon now offers all sorts of products ranging from gardening to high tech. Amazon makes possible attempt to customize the buyer’s experience. When on the homepage of Amazon, you will find special offers section and featured products. If you have visited Amazon before and have used the service you will have a history with products which Amazon will use to their advantage and advertise relating items on the special offers and featured products to draw your attention.
Infrastructure and Technology
Amazon runs on Linux. In 2005 Amazon had built databases so big they were officially the world’s largest Linux databases, with a total capacity of 7.8 Terabytes, 18.5 Terabytes and 24.7 Terabytes. The central Amazon data warehouse is made up of 28 HP servers, with four CPUs per node.
Amazon became so big they processed a top-end one million shipments and twenty million inventory updates in one day. The amount of sales Amazon were doing daily meant thousands of customers where giving debit and credit details were being sent to Amazons database, this meant security was a top priority as hackers would steal, sell and use details. Amazon already encrypted card numbers during the checkout process, however they went a step further by others customers the choice to encrypt all information such as name, and their address.
Amazon employs the Netscape Secure Commerce Server using the secure socket layer protocol. This is where all credit and debit card information would be stored. It would not be accessible by internet meaning no hackers could gain entry.
Reference: http://money.howstuffworks.com/amazon1.htm
Website Analysis
Amazon is very simple and easy to use. The main search bar is at the very top of the page, which is a convenient place, being right below the URL bar. If you have an account with Amazon it is right above quick links to your account as well as “Your” Amazon, Today’s Deals, Gift Cards, Sell and Help links.
The search bar is very useful as it has predictive text on what it thinks you may be searching for. Once a specific word has been entered it gives you a choice of departments which you can choice from to help narrow down the search for the customer’s product(s).
User Friendly
Amazon has a section named “Your” Amazon. This is a personalized section that Amazon offers anyone who is signed up for the website. In this section you can quickly view the number of orders they have. They also show basic customers information such as the year they became a customer. It also gives recommended products based on what the customer looks at on the site as well as what the customer has previously bought.
Log In
The log in process for returning customers and the sign up button are very easy to use as well as very quick to access.
The sign up process is very simple to follow and is quick to complete. You will need an email, you will also need to create a password for your account. Any other information such as address and card details can be given on a later day when making a purchase.
When logging in after already creating an account before all you need to do is enter the email you registered with as well as the same password you register with. From the log in page Amazon promotes its security, by adding “Sign in using out secure server”.
Promotions
Amazon offers a wide range of offers on all different types of products. Amazon is well known for its daily deals, which is located under the search bar. There is a quick link that will take you to the deals named “Daily Deals”.
There are so many deals, that amazon have a handy refinery tool on the left hand side of the page. The customer can select departments which products might interest them and it will narrow the products down.
Statistics
The graph below shows the net revenue for Amazon from 2006 to 2015 in billion U.S. dollars. In 2014, Amazons net revenue amounted to 88.99 billion U.S. dollars. 33.52 billion was through international revenue channels.
Reference: http://www.statista.com/statistics/266289/net-revenue-of-amazon-by-region/
Impact of E-commerce
If it wasn’t for online shopping and e-commerce Amazon may not have existed today. Amazon is one of the most well-known e-commerce sites today and has been greatly impacted by e-commerce.
Platforms
Amazon is available on most platforms. There is an Amazon app that is available on iOS for apples users’, it is also available for android users. This covers most mobile phones and tablets, however it is also available on windows 10 operating system which most windows phones and tablets now run on. Amazon is also compatible with all internet browsers such as windows explorer, google chrome, Firefox and all the others.
Tesco
Tesco was founded in 1919 by a man named Jack Cohen. Tesco’s was originally a market stall in London’s East End. Over the years the business grew and they now operate in 12 countries around the world, which helps employ over 530,000 people. In the century leap year 2000, Tesco’s launched their website of “Tesco.com” and it has grown to serve over 500,000 customers each week (Tesco, 2015).
How it works
Tesco’s stock over one million products on their online store, which they then deliver to all over the country and other countries they operate in. Tesco’s use cookies to track what their customer has looked at and bought. This is then used to personalize each customer’s experiences a lot like how Amazon base there website on. Unlike Amazon though Tesco’s is mainly a grocery shop however do sell some other products. Tesco’s will adapt their site according to the time of year to help with demand, for example if it is Christmas season they will increase the stock for turkeys and Christmas festival treats to help meet demand.
Infrastructure and Technology
Tesco’s teamed up with Verzion not so long ago, this is to provide secure connectivity to Tesco’s suppliers, partners, customers and colleagues in 12 countries around the world. The infrastructure offers a solid foundation and enables Tesco’s to develop and roll out new and upcoming technologies and services.
Just like Amazon, Tesco’s also use secure socket layer when it comes to customers checking out using their precious card details. They also state this during the check-out process to help reassure the customer that their information is safe.
Website Analysis
When first entering the site you will be placed on the homepage. From here you will see that everything is easy to see and read. The search bar is in the right upper-hand corner, which is like most sites. The main departments of Tesco’s are easily displayed and again like Amazon offering quick links to each department making shopping fun, easy and fast. The homepage will adapt according to the time of year it is, so for example if it is Christmas time they may have Christmas themed pictures on their website.
Log in
The log in and sign up process are a lot like Amazons however Tesco’s ask for your name, address, email address and password in order to set up an account unlike Amazon who only asked for an email address and a password. If already signed up and need to log in all that will be needed is the email that was used to create the account with as well as the password.
Impact of E-commerce
Tesco was around before the internet came about. Since the launch of the internet e-commerce has become a big part of it offering benefits for companies such as Amazon and eBay. Tesco’s developed a demand for things to go online therefore Tesco decided that they should make their products available online and implemented one in 2000. Since then, Tesco have seen a rise in sales and therefore have increased their overall profit and market share.
Platforms
Tesco is now accessible from most app stores such as android, iOS, and Windows app store. Tesco’s is also compatible with all internet browsers just like Amazon.
Financial Impact
When an organisation is thinking about developing an e-commerce site, they need to take in account of financial impacts. The investment will be high, but they need to consider other investments that will need to be made such as website development, e-commerce package and many other investments.
E-commerce site plan
Below is what I feel like is an appropriate e-commerce site for MFP.
