The History Of Amazon –

In terms of revenue, Amazon is the biggest internet-based company in the world. When it started out selling books online in 1994, Jeff Bezos had an idea that the best way to succeed online was to grow big and fast.

Today, the company sells everything from books to groceries to shipping container houses. It has become a one-stop-shop and has many ambitions for its future. 

Here we explore Amazon’s earliest days and highlight some of the company’s most important milestones. We will also attempt to explore why the company became so popular. 

When did Amazon start and when was Amazon founded?

Amazon, or more correctly Amazon.com, was first incorporated by Jeff Bezos in July of 2005. At the time, he was a Wall Street hedge fund executive.

Amazon was originally to be called Cadabra (from Abracadabra). But Bezos’ lawyer advised him that the reference to magic might be a bit too obscure.  

Also, when people heard the name on the phone, they all too often heard “Cadaver” instead — not ideal. 

So, Bezos and his then-wife MacKenzie Tuttle started to register some domain names for their potential new venture. 

Bezos soon registered the domain names Awake.com, Browse.com, and Bookmall.com. He also registered the domain name Relentless.com and kept it. In fact, if you type that into your browser today, you’ll be redirected to Amazon.com.

After scrolling through a dictionary for some inspiration, he hit on the word Amazon. Bezos thought this was particularly fitting as he envisaged his online store becoming the biggest in the world — much like the Amazon is one of the biggest rivers on the planet. 

This is the philosophy behind why Amazon is commonly called the everything store today. 

Amazon.com was registered on the 1st of November 1994. Name sorted, but what to sell?

At the time he knew he wanted to build some form of an online retailer but wasn’t sure what to sell. After some research, he settled on books.

They were relatively easy to source, package, and distribute. 

Amazon was not the first company to hit on this business strategy. Another company, Computer Literacy (a Silicon Valley bookstore) began selling its own wares online as early as 1991.

The difference that Amazon.com had to offer was its greater convenience. It, from the off, was based on a model of delivering online orders directly to the customer’s address anywhere in the world. 

As we all know now, Amazon.com is about a lot more than just books today. This was always the plan, according to Bezos. 

He contended from the company’s very beginnings that Amazon was not just an online retailer selling consumer products. Bezos envisaged the company being a technology company at heart whose real business was to simplify online transactions for its customers. 

When did Amazon start selling things other than books?

As we have already seen, Amazon started out selling books online. This was groundbreaking for the time and very few companies were providing the level of convenience that Amazon.com had to offer. 

• n 2020, it is the world’s largest online retailer, and possibly the biggest company on the planet.
• Founder and CEO Jeff Bezos was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico in 1964.
• 2007 was a banner year for Amazon, when they introduced the Kindle e-reader.
• Consumers turn to Amazon so often because of its enormous variety of products.

The History Of Amazon

Prior to 2005, most people associated the word “Amazon” with a region in South America. In 2020, it is the world’s largest online retailer, and possibly the biggest company on the planet. How did it all get started?

Jeff Bezos 

Founder and CEO Jeff Bezos was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico in 1964. He graduated from Princeton University, where he studied electrical engineering and computer science. He worked for a Wall Street investment company and soon rose to senior vice president.

Bezos and some fellow employees started developing new software in his garage, and he had 300 friends test the fledgling site. After four years, he quit his VP position to open Amazon.com on July 16, 1995. It was originally an online bookstore. Within a month, sales were at $20,000 a week, with books being shipped to the United States and foreign countries. The company went public in 1997.

Growing Exponentially

A kindle. 

Two years later, Bezos was Time magazine’s Person of the Year. By the end of 1999, Amazon’s numbers were incredible: they had shipped 20 million products to 150 countries. In 2000 they expanded to include outside merchants and other sellers to sell on the website.

2007 was a banner year for Amazon when they introduced the Kindle e-reader. This soon outpaced the sales of their print books. In 2011, the Kindle Fire tablet computer was released. Other landmarks include their video on demand and cloud computing services in 2006, a movie and television series development studio in 2010 and a fine art online marketplace in 2013. Perhaps some of its best-known creations are the Amazon Echo or Dot, which run the virtual assistant Alexa. The system is integrated with many of Amazon’s other services.

Why Is Amazon Such A Big Deal?

Consumers turn to Amazon so often because of its enormous variety of products. Rather than having to shop at different retailers or website, people can find everything in one place. Another convenience that appeals to buyers is the fast shipping and free returns offered on many products. They started this when Internet shopping was still new to most people, and it allowed them to build a loyal customer base.

Innovation is another key factor in Amazon’s success. Bezos believes in continuous evolution, and advocates for experimentation into other areas. Employees are encouraged to take risks and are not discouraged if an idea is not successful. For example, even though their Fire Phone 3D-enabled smartphone failed, they were able to turn things around with the Amazon Echo smart speaker.

An Onward Trajectory

The introduction of the Prime membership service in 2005 tied Amazon’s services together and created even more brand loyalty. Estimates show that around 50 million people in this country use Prime. Amazon’s future projects include the opening of new retail stores, renewable energy projects, and other ways of reducing the company’s carbon footprint. Jeff Bezos has repeatedly been named the richest person in the world, and it will be interesting to see what he has planned for the future.

NAMRATA