Amazon Evolution
Axia College

Amazon.com's initial strategy was to become the largest online bookseller in the United States. Their plan was based on a combination of business ingenuity, fitting a newly created need in the marketplace for discount books, and being able to provide these books at a significant enough discount due to their ability to buy in bulk and run their business without the same staff required of a traditional book store. Amazon.com quickly caught on to those looking for cheaper books, especially amongst college students. At the time, the only primary way of buying other types of goods online was through EBay, which could involve a time consuming arduous process, and could cause an individual to pay a substantial premium on the goods they were going to purchase. Furthermore, it was difficult if someone were otherwise occupied, for instance, with employment to stay attuned to the deal and not lose it to another individual merely because he was working at the time. EBay attempted to fulfill this need through Half.com, but it did not really catch on like Amazon. Just like other bookstores, Amazon quickly moved into other media, such as movies videogames, and other forms of entertainment, especially those visually based. Once Amazon realized that it was making such a substantial profit through selling books and the other forms of medium that it sold on its website, it seems like the Executives came to the logical conclusion that the website would be able to get college age young adults and others to purchase other items once they logged on to purchase a book. Amazon utilized the same type of strategy that has been incorporated by department stores in the past, such as Wal-Mart, which has expanded to contain supermarkets and other items in different departments, to be a combination of department store, drugstore, supermarket, optometrist pharmacist, sporting goods store, etc. Amazon became the online equivalent, catering to those who would rather purchase goods at home through benefiting from comparison shopping and not having to transport the items themselves as well as the type of discounts most Wall-Mart shoppers could obtain. However, Amazon offered literary matters and designer goods that Wall-Mart did not. Also, while Wall-Mart developed a stigma due to allegations of sweat shop labor, Amazon remained distant from these. They categorize their items in a relatively easy to follow manner, as well as allowing options so a shopper can ensure his purchase will qualify for free shipping. At the same time, Amazon provides a useful search engine that will direct someone right to an item they want, and then provides suggestions as to other items they may be interested in. This far exceeds what any traditional store could logically provide and has only led to increases in Amazon's development. And it has prevented any stigma from attaching by devoting funds to the eco-friendly kindle.