All Your E-Commerce Sites Belong To Amazon?

from the the-e-commerce-borg dept

An occasionally rambling Washington Post article looks at what people look for in e-commerce sites, and finds that, basically, people want what Amazon gives them. Thus, it's no surprise that more and more retailers are simply turning to Amazon to build and run their e-commerce operations for them. While some people don't like this, I think it's not a bad idea. The simple fact is that the Amazon shopping experience has been consistently better than other e-commerce sites for many years. They always seem to be ahead of the curve in making the online shopping experience more useful and enjoyable. So, I have no problem if plenty of other companies offer a similar experience.
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  • identicon
    theodp, 15 Aug 2002 @ 5:48am

    Ahead Of The Curve?

    Millions of people are already very familiar with the concept behind the brand new trademarked Amazon "Gold Box" feature discussed in the article - they just know it better as the circa-1965 Kmart BlueLight Special!

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      Mike (profile), 15 Aug 2002 @ 10:26am

      Re: Ahead Of The Curve?

      Right... but, that misses the point. The point is that Amazon is the first company to offer a similar offering online. Consistently, online innovations in shopping are pioneered by Amazon. Instead of just copying what everyone else is doing, Amazon keeps adding features to their sites. And, these features generally help their customers, rather than annoy them.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        theodp, 15 Aug 2002 @ 11:36am

        Re: Ahead Of The Curve?

        Take another look at Kmart's April, 2001 press release, issued about a year before the debut of Amazon's 'Gold Box', which says "Kmart is bringing back the American retail icon both in its stores and online...Conducted daily in all of Kmart’s 2,109 stores and online at BlueLight.com, BlueLight Specials will offer unprecedented savings...Shoppers will never know which products will be BlueLight Specials, creating a sense of excitement and anticipation when the celebrated phrase ''Attention Kmart Shoppers'' is called out in stores or appears on computer screens online."

        link to this | view in chronology ]

        • icon
          Mike (profile), 15 Aug 2002 @ 11:49am

          Re: Ahead Of The Curve?

          I stand corrected.

          However, this doesn't go against the main point of the argument that Amazon consistently offers a better online shopping experience.

          Theodp, you clearly have something against Amazon, since you submit plenty of stories that all trash Amazon. Could you please share your bias, and explain why you hate them so much?

          link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 15 Aug 2002 @ 10:58am

    One stop shopping

    I'd rather get what I need from one online or offline store than spend my time looking around everywhere. This is why stores like Wal-Mart do go good.

    link to this | view in chronology ]


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