Comprehensive analysis of the operating model and market performance of Amazon’s e-commerce platform
As the largest e-commerce platform in the United States, since its establishment in 1995, Amazon has rapidly grown into one of the global online retailers with its powerful warehousing logistics and after-sales service system. Initially, Amazon’s operations were mainly focused on self-operated book retailing, but now its categories have expanded to tens of millions of products, becoming a leader in the e-commerce field. In 2019, Amazon’s online sales ranked first in the world, and its fourth-quarter net profit reached US$3.268 billion, showing strong market performance.
On the Amazon platform, sellers can pay corresponding fees to the platform based on the selected service model. For self-operated business, Amazon charges a monthly fee and transaction commission, and no commission is charged if there are no transactions. In addition, sellers who choose Amazon Logistics need to bear additional warehousing and logistics costs, while sellers who deliver independently need to follow Amazon’s service quality requirements.
Amazon’s competitive advantages are mainly reflected in its international brand influence, high-quality customer service system and pioneering international logistics services. Especially in the North American market, Amazon’s FBA service can achieve fast delivery in 2 to 3 days, and even next-day delivery at the fastest. In the European market, Amazon provides unified warehousing and logistics services covering the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy and Spain, further enhancing the seller’s international operating capabilities.
In addition to being a cross-border e-commerce platform, Amazon is also known as a technology company. In 2017, Amazon’s R&D investment ranked first among American companies. This technical strength has given it a high reputation in the industry. In Amazon’s important operating model, operators need to pay attention to technology and data analysis, and avoid short-term operations such as “brushing orders” and private domain traffic. These are not feasible on the Amazon platform. Once discovered, they will face store bans. Wait for severe punishment.
According to Amazon’s flywheel theory, improving buyers’ shopping experience is the key to promoting the overall development of the platform. Although operators usually optimize titles, keywords, A+ content, and video promotions, many sellers lack an in-depth understanding of technology and data, which ultimately leads to unsatisfactory operational results. Therefore, how to achieve excellent operational results within a limited operating space is what every seller needs to focus on.
When listing products, choosing effective titles and keywords directly affects the initial exposure and traffic of the product. Therefore, understanding the basic principles of search engine optimization (SEO) is a required course for every Amazon seller. This not only involves the operating logic of the A9 algorithm, but also includes factors such as evaluation scores, the impact of keyword length and title length on search rankings. These factors together determine whether sellers can stand out in a highly competitive market.
Through an in-depth understanding of market dynamics and operating logic, sellers can more effectively utilize the Amazon platform to achieve sustained business growth and success.