SWOT Analysis Of Amazon

Why did you choose this product or service? I chose amazon.com because it is not only a service that I use frequently, but also one that I don 't know much about aside from the obvious.

What are its interesting features? Amazon.com has many interesting features. The feature that I find most interesting is that Amazon is virtually a one-stop-shop. You can buy anything from groceries and household items to clothing and automotive items. Living in rural southern Colorado, the closest thing we have to a one-stop-shop is Walmart. All other shopping centers are a minimum two hour drive in any direction. Other interesting features include: membership and charge account options, local and global products, and Amazon is continually working to improve

To find its potential, perform a SWOT analysis. Ken Andrews developed the SWOT analysis tool in the 1970 's. SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (Flat World Knowledge, Inc., n.d. p.105). Amazon 's strengths include its size, popularity, competitive pricing, customer reach, and ease of access. As for weaknesses, Amazon is an online only retailer. This can be viewed as a great weakness because while much of the world has access to the internet, not all of the world has access. This means Amazon could potentially be missing out on sales from those who might have no other choice than to shop at nearby businesses. Opportunities for Amazon don 't seem to be as apparent as its strengths and weaknesses. However, one big opportunity that Amazon is currently working on is having a selection of its own brand of products. Products sold on Amazon are mainly from global brands rather than Amazon itself. Finally, the major threats to the company are its competitors (Ebay & search engines with "shopping" options) and the ever-increasing concern over online shopping. In the past few years, we have seen and heard about an increasing number of businesses which have been "hacked" and customers ' information (credit card numbers, addresses, personal information, etc.) stolen. As a frequent Amazon shopper, I can only hope that Amazon is never involved in such a threat. Overall, Amazon has huge potential and has been capitalizing on that

Or does it also have other impacts (for example, social or environmental) that make it valuable? Not only is Amazon the top online retailer, but the list of community and global efforts it puts forth is nearly endless. Here are a few examples: in the communities where their employees live, Amazon offers pro-bono legal services to individuals who are in need of legal assistance but can not afford it. Amazon also developed Amazon Smile where customers have the option to purchase eligible products and donate to any of the millions of charities Amazon has teamed up with. Amazon has worked to implement frustration free packaging (get rid of unnecessary boxes/tape/cardboard) and developing smarter ways to load their trucks in order to minimize trips. Both of these strategies help reduce the environmental impact that Amazon has ("In the Community", n.d.)

References:

Principles of Management. (n.d.). Nyack, NY: Flat World Knowledge.

Isidore, C. (2016, January 26). Amazon Prime Nearly Half of U.S. Households. Retrieved September 14, 2016, from http://money.cnn.com/2016/01/26/technology/amazon-prime-memberships/

Economic Impact. (n.d.). Retrieved September 13, 2016, from https://www.amazon.com/p/feature/nsog9ct4onemec9?ref_=aa_navb_2

Retail. (n.d.). Retrieved September 13, 2016, from https://www.amazon.jobs/team-category/retail?base_query=

In The Community. (n.d.). Retrieved September 13, 2016,