Swot Analysis of Amazon

STRENGTHS

Brand recognition: amazon.com is synonym of sales online and their services are focused on customers' satisfaction, for example one can observe this particular strength in the most recent release of amazon.com: "the kindle" digital book reader, where one can store up to 200 books. In its two first days the kindle has ran out of stock, despite the fact that it is not the first digital book reader into the market.

The business model: the model has the advantage of increasing revenues without incurring highly direct costs.

Diversification: the variety of products that amazon.com offers in different geographical markets suggests a large stability into the e-commerce field.

Business evolution: during the past year's amazon.com has continually reinvented their services, increasing their value.

WEAKNESSES

Strategies based on low prices: the best attraction of amazon.com is low prices and although it has worked, customers could be attracted by others stores that could provide better deals.

Distribution: increase the variety of products and geographical position may present numerous difficulties in the distribution.

Growth: the growing of amazon.com is not the best, except by extraordinary events such as Harry Potter releases or the most recent audio book reader.

Delivering: all along amazon.com has offered free delivering in order to gain customers, nonetheless this strategy is expensive and not necessary stable. Amazon.com makes people wait days to receive books that they can obtain instantly from their neighbourhood bookstores.

OPPORTUNITIES

Pre-ordering: increasing pre-ordering of products (customer pay before the item is available and amazon.com pay the supplier just after they release the product) is a great business. Furthermore amazon.com receive the money in advance as well as charging prices that tend to be higher in earliest days.

Various providers: include other stores such as Toy R Us, Circuit City, Office Depot, WHSmith and so forth. It may allow amazon.com to include new products in line to improve services and the image of the brand (amazon.com).

Web services: techniques of companies such as Linux or Facebook.com where third parties can access to technical contents in order to improve and develop their applications, could allow amazon.com to innovate the platform without incurring massive investments.

International markets: the rapidly growth of use of internet and broadband throughout countries (including countries with real presence) would allow amazon.com to expand the brand to international markets.

THREATS

Competence: the e-commerce field has evolved rapidly and it