Amazon at 30: What Lies Ahead for ‘The Everything Company’?
As Amazon celebrates its 30th anniversary, its scale and influence are nothing short of astonishing. The company, which started as an online bookstore in 1994, now operates across multiple sectors, from retail and streaming to cloud computing and smart home technology.
A visit to one of Amazon’s massive warehouses, such as the one in Dartford, near London, illustrates its operational prowess. With millions of items in stock and hundreds of thousands of daily orders, Amazon claims it can pick, pack, and ship an item within two hours. Multiply this efficiency by 175, the number of Amazon’s global “fulfilment centres,” and you begin to grasp the enormity of its operations.
However, this logistical marvel is just one facet of Amazon. The company also dominates streaming (Amazon Prime Video), home security (Ring), smart speakers (Alexa), and e-readers (Kindle). Additionally, its cloud computing arm, Amazon Web Services (AWS), supports vast portions of the internet.
“For a long time, it has been called ‘The Everything Store,’ but now Amazon is essentially ‘The Everything Company,'” says Bloomberg’s Amanda Mull. “It’s so large and omnipresent that it touches many different parts of life, and people take Amazon’s role in their daily lives for granted.”
Despite its growth and diversification, Amazon has faced criticism over working conditions and tax practices. Yet, the pressing question as it enters its fourth decade is: what’s next for The Everything Company?
Sucharita Kodali, an analyst at Forrester, sums up the challenge: “Once you’re at a half a trillion dollars in revenue, how do you continue to grow at double digits year over year?”
One strategy could involve leveraging its extensive shopping data to enhance its advertising business on its streaming services. However, the benefits of such cross-promotion are limited. The integration between diverse ventures like Kuiper, its satellite division, and Whole Foods, its supermarket chain, remains uncertain.
Kodali suggests that Amazon’s approach might be to continue experimenting with new business ideas, despite some failing. This week, Amazon scrapped a business robot line after just nine months. “It’s just one of many ideas that didn’t pan out,” she says, noting that experimentation is part of Amazon’s success formula.
However, regulatory scrutiny poses a significant challenge. Questions about data privacy, environmental impact, and market dominance are growing. This increased attention could lead to interventions similar to those that dismantled monopolies in the early 20th century.
Juozas Kaziukėnas, founder of e-commerce intelligence firm Marketplace Pulse, highlights another issue: urban infrastructure. “Our cities were not built for many more deliveries,” he says, emphasizing the importance of emerging markets like India, Mexico, and Brazil for Amazon’s growth.
Amanda Mull points to the rising competition from Chinese companies like Temu and Shein. These companies offer lower prices by extending delivery times, appealing to cost-conscious consumers.
Despite these challenges, Kaziukėnas remains confident in Amazon’s dominance, stating, “As long as shopping involves a search bar, Amazon has nailed that.”
Reflecting on Amazon’s journey, Kaziukėnas notes that the company’s success was built on recognizing early internet trends and transforming retail and beyond. To maintain its edge, Amazon may need to innovate similarly, potentially through advancements in AI. “The only threat to Amazon is something that doesn’t look like Amazon,” he concludes.
