Amazon’s Answer to the Marketplace: First, Amazon Prime, Now Delivery by Drone. Is convenience the path to market domination?

Posted on: February 28th, 2017

In its two-decade history of being a public company Amazon has always heavily invested in new infrastructure and technology with the aim to remove significant points of inconvenience that a customer experiences.

In recent years, the online behemoth has pushed boundaries by first introducing Amazon Prime and now successfully completing it first delivery by Drone.

Several more ‘convenience fuelled’ products are on the line including Amazon Go- an innovative concept that leverages technology to let customers walk in, pick food from the shelves and simply walk out again, without ever having to wait in a checkout line.

All of the above concepts hinge on single aspect- customer convenience. So does Amazon go by the belief that convenience is the path to market domination? Apparently it does.

The power of convenience + value

There definitely must be something more to Amazon’s consistent sales growth than just size and brand awareness. After all Amazon is successfully managing to beat every other brick-and-mortar retailer who is pouring money into their e-commerce platforms and omnichannel strategies.

Amazon’s secret lies in offering convenience + value to its customers. Its Prime membership program is a classic example.

By offering customers free two-day shipping and a host of other bonuses like Amazon Prime Video and access to the Kindle Lending Library, Amazon has created a program that purportedly drives double the annual spending and has a retention rate of over 90%.

Although Amazon refuses to reveal the number of Prime members it has, research by Consumer Intelligence Research Partners, shows that the company now has 54 million members in the U.S., with Prime membership now being offered worldwide.

Such a strategy translates to Amazon not only being committed to being the low-cost provider in retail, but also providing a more convenient shopping experience. Add this to Amazon’s legendary customer service and you have a winning combination.

The road ahead

Such amazing combinations of benefits make it hard for traditional retailers to compete with Amazon. Furthermore, Amazon consistently outshines the competition by adding new devices and enhancing technologies such as delivery by Drone and the now being tested Amazon Go.

Convenience is certainly how Amazon sees itself to leading market domination. And judging by the present statistics, Amazon will continue to lead the retail sector and possibly even gain a larger share of industry growth going forward.

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