The eCommerce industry has evolved since its inception in 1984. It has grown exponentially to include individuals, freelancers, small businesses, and large corporations, all working to sell either goods or services electronically.
When Amazon launched as an online bookstore in 1994, the development of eCommerce began to accelerate. Amazon served as a launching pad for the rapid development of eCommerce and has remained the most popular eCommerce site since.
Many of Bezos' peers and other critics were skeptical of his proposed business model at the time of Amazon’s founding. However, Bezos remained firm and determined that in order to succeed as an online retailer, Amazon would need to grow quickly — which it did.
By December 1996, the company's customer base had grown to 180,000, and by the following year, it had risen to around 1,000,000. Amazon remained a private company until it went public in 1997. By 1998, Amazon's revenue had risen to a whopping $6 billion.
In its early days, Amazon's main appeal was one of pure convenience. The ability to search for, select, and buy a book from the comfort of your own home was a groundbreaking innovation at the time.
But it wasn't about the products they were selling. Amazon's success stemmed from customer-centric innovations like the recommended product function and customer reviews. Amazon was able to increase its revenue even further by offering other products to upsell based on the customer's previous purchases — especially with the addition of customer reviews.
Amazon’s popularity and global success were largely the product of market research and innovation. Bezos knew how to use and analyze data in order to come up with out-of-the-box solutions that will generate revenue.
eCommerce is currently an extremely saturated market and in order to succeed, eCommerce businesses must employ creative, data-driven strategies. With the help of industry experts, you have the chance to grow your business and become one of the top names in the online market.
Visit Bliss Drive now and check out our competitive analysis services to see how you fare against your competitors and to develop intelligent strategies that will carry you closer to the top!