Amazon's E-commerce Empire

As the world rapidly evolves, people's lives alter to become more technological and advanced. Most lifestyles, mediums, and actions have transformed to online, such as social media used for news as opposed to newspapers, and Google for research or learning as opposed to books. One of the most revolutionary transitions to online that characterized the 21st century and its evolution from the 20th century revolves around commerce. Describing the activity between buyer and the seller, commerce has remained an effective trade system for many centuries as it has allowed the seller to get the product or service he or she wants while the buyer can achieve a profit, fulfilling his or her own ambitions and desires. In the late 1900s, commerce slowly became more accessible as its online concept was introduced, in which buyers can buy the product directly from websites, instead of going to the store. The company that contributed most to this change was Amazon, which began as a bookstore selling books online. What started out as a harmless online bookstore eventually became the most ferocious, competitive force in the online market.

Amazon is notorious for having a diverse range of products, ranging from technology to fashion to groceries. Additionally, its potent loyalty program known as Prime offers many benefits, such as free 2-day shipping and delivery of items within 2 hours. Competitors such as eBay and Walmart have failed to create similarly powerful business models, allowing Amazon to build an extravagant, content customer base. However, the majority of the products are not sold directly by Amazon; rather, they are sold by Amazon's large marketplace network of third-party sellers. This only emphasizes Amazon's empire, as it has attracted a wide group of sellers eager to place their products on the company's website and a wide group of buyers willing to purchase them.

Amazon's popularity continues to grow each year. Whereas last year the company accounted for 43% of all online US retail sales, it is predicted that it will dominate 49.1% of the country's online commerce by 2018's end, translating to $258.22 billion in US sales. In second place comes eBay with a predicted 6.6% of online US retail sales. This large gap of power vividly illustrates the ever-growing strength of Amazon and the public's dependence upon the company's service. As the company's sales continue to grow, Amazon's empire becomes more impregnable, and it appears that its civilization will never flounder and collapse.