The Rise of Amazon amid the Covid-19 Pandemic
Consumers began to spend one more hour of the day online on digital media during the start of the pandemic as compared to 2019. Worldwide e-commerce sales are now approaching the $5 trillion mark and on top of that e-commerce sales are projected to grow 14.3% this year (Davis & Toney, 2021). The question that arises to the majority of business sellers is how can they create the best possible customer experience online for individuals during the pandemic? So, with this being said, in today’s article we will be discussing Amazon; the largest growth profit of 2020, and how they achieved the greatest customer satisfaction amid the global pandemic.
Facing the pandemic early on
Unlike most companies who failed to acknowledge the drastic changes during the spread of the Coronavirus, Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon decided to face the reality of the global pandemic, head-on. He said in various publications that “The current crisis demonstrating the adaptability and durability of Amazon’s business as never seen before, but it is also the hardest time we’ve ever seen before” (Palmer, 2020). In the start of the global pandemic, Amazon employees started protesting for the hard-working environments and the stress that they were facing, under such difficult conditions. It didn’t take long for Amazon headquarters to fix these issues that were negatively affecting its employees’. In order to overcome this, their employee’s safety became a priority, every individual that was working got regular Covid-19 tests done and were asked questions to ensure that they were safe off and on hours. Along with this, Amazon provided stationed hand sanitisers everywhere in the facility, workers were packaging while maintaining social distance and were also provided with masks. Amazon also went on to hire many more individuals in each of their global facilities so tasks could be divided reasonably and effectively ensuring that each of their employees was cared for.
Great customer service
During the rise of the pandemic, Amazon has worked on establishing a high provision of customer service. The first step they took to certifying great customer service was ensuring that customers could contact an amazon customer service representative regarding concerns with a product any time of the day. Along with this, Amazon staff does a great job in answering all questions regarding shipment, product returns etc. The second step Amazon took was making sure that with such a high demand for products, customers were still receiving their items on time, safely and efficiently as possible. Amazon was able to do so by really utilizing their free prime feature, and through updating customers every step of the way. This here helped customers feel comfortable and aware of where their products are coming from and when they would arrive to them.
Marketplace mechanism
Even before the pandemic, Amazon was able to carry most goods on their site. With the sudden change of the pandemic, and the need for immediate goods like hand sanitiser, toilet paper, and other various necessities, Amazon made sure to include as many different types of products as possible. As of today, anything can be found on Amazon from food to clothing, all directly sold from them or from different sellers. Amazon has also been very strategic when it comes to providing their customers will everything they could possibly need, all from the comfort of their own home. Through this, a network effect occurred; if everything is available on Amazon, consumers are more likely to purchase there, making sellers more likely to sell there. This here is a key reason for Amazons growth; their ability to keep bringing customers back every time they make a purchase. Amazon has generated $280.52 billion in net sales in 2019, and since the spread of Coronavirus; consumer spending is up 35% (Klimek, 2020).
The final message
With the rise of the pandemic, there has been an increase in consumers shopping online. With that being said, there has been a lot of pressure for many companies to shift their stores online and rethink their business strategy long-term, in order to ensure that the best service is being provided to their customers. As seen, in this article, Amazon has been able to successfully navigate the highs and lows of the global pandemic and continue to do so today.
