Blog Post #6: EOTO Reaction 1

    The EOTO presentations taught me about a range of different technologies that have been invented along the way, impacting society greatly. We were taught about the postal service, cassette tapes, emojis, Facebook, and what stood out the most to me, Amazon's online shopping. Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, created this revolutionary business that so many consumers rely on today, by first selling books online out of his garage. 

    Amazon was originally named Cadabra in 1995, in reference to abracadabra since the idea of online shopping was like magic. However, Bezos’ lawyer said that it sounded too close to cadaver and it was then changed to Amazon, a name that is widely known for its convenience and efficiency today.

    Amazon has developed significantly over time. As previously mentioned, it began as an online book store with personalized recommendations for consumers. Bezos soon added selling CDs and later videos in 1998. Once competition with online selling increased, Bezos improved Amazon again, by adding a range of new types of products including electronics, apparel, hardware, in addition to their original products of books, CDs, and videos. Furthermore, Amazon didn’t stop innovating with these new additions. They went on to release Amazon Prime in 2005, a service that promised members free two-day shipping. This added to the efficiency and convenience of Amazon for consumers, therefore adding greatly to their appeal rather than physical stores.

    One of the most impactful parts of Amazon is its reveal of the popularity and success of online retail shopping. Amazon was a trailblazer in the online shopping world, causing several other retailers to soon release their own version of online stores. It also made the idea of Prime or faster shipping a new normal for online stores through the introduction of Amazon Prime. Several companies have followed Amazon’s innovations and been forced to keep evolving themselves in order to stay in competition with Amazon. This competition was seen greatly during the 2020 Pandemic, where online shopping – specifically through Amazon – was a daily activity for many consumers.

    The EOTO presentation on Amazon caused me to want to learn more about the company and it’s impact on online shopping and retail today. In my outside research, I came across the Amazon Effect, which is an idea that attempts to describe consumer’s behaviors and habits through tracking their purchase changes through their Amazon presence. This study of consumers also attempts to follow and explain the increasing success and growth of Amazon through studying the Amazon consumer’s purchasing habits.