Amazon is a name in the retail industry that requires no introduction and has set the retail benchmark really high.
The American tech giant offers e-commerce, cloud computing, artificial intelligence and digital streaming services. The multinational platform also provides logistics and delivery services. Amazon started as an online bookstore and later ventured into numerous new and exciting projects to have its own brick-and-mortar stores in the past few years. Its technology offerings prove to be a competitive edge. We will be analysing Amazon’s digital strategy, innovations and future ambitions in this article.
Digital Strategy:
As per the Commerce Department and Digital Commerce 360, US e-commerce sales increased by 14.2% in 2021, to $870.78 billion, with 55.4% of that growth coming solely from Amazon. It’s clear that Amazon wants to become the go-to brand for consumers when it comes to digital offerings. Amazon’s digital strategy is all about superior customer service and distribution of its products through its wide web of digital supply chain operations. The brand makes sure to offer a one-stop-shop spot to consumers with increased personalisation. Amazon effectively leverages consumer data to become aware of the personalised choices of consumers and suggest relevant products. Its digital strategy involves artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to render error-free results.
After the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic in 2020, Amazon made a lot of shifts. It acquired the Whole Foods Market supermarket chain in 2017 to enter the digital grocery industry. The brand now operates Amazon Fresh, Amazon Go and Amazon Style stores as its physical stores with an omnichannel presence. Additionally, Amazon launched its contactless payment Just Walkout technology, powered by Amazon One, for cashier-less checkout in its grocery outlets. Amazon is increasing the membership fee of Amazon Prime from $20 per year to $139. This move will help the brand strengthen its digital strategy and gain profits by beating the rising inflation and supply chain costs. The tech giant is currently growing Amazon Air to augment its digital supply chain and deliver packages in a short time.
Innovations:
Amazon is not stopping innovating amazing offerings anytime soon. After launching grocery stores, the firm is now aiming to roll out Amazon Style. It is the tech firm’s latest store concept. Amazon announced to open it in the Los Angeles market sometime this year. This store would be Amazon’s first fashion venture to sell clothes, footwear and accessories in a physical outlet. The firm already sells fashion items via its online mediums. Shoppers would be scanning QR codes to shop and leave without waiting in a queue to make payments against the products purchased. The concept store would use innovative tech to help the consumers find the best-suited apparel and accessories at affordable prices. The store would have interactive fitting room tech solutions to guide shoppers. This venture would surely inspire other retailers to get creative with consumer data and know about their personal preferences. Amazon rolled out brick-and-mortar stores, including its Books, 4-star and Pop Up concepts stores. But this year, the tech giant announced it is shutting all of them and steering its focus to other projects.
Future Ambitions:
Amazon is marching ahead with big moves in e-commerce on its bucket list. Apart from the Amazon Style concept store, the firm is increasingly investing in electric delivery vehicles and growing its Amazon Air unit to grow sustainability efforts. Amazon’s CEO Andy Jassy detailed that its future moves could include cryptocurrency or sales of nonfungible tokens like NFTs. With other big names investing in the metaverse, we shall remain prepared to see Amazon getting into the metaverse very soon. Amazon also plans to increase its physical retail footprints and grow consumer engagement.
