Research Paper on:
Amazon; SWOT Analysis

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
To look at Amazon a SWOT analysis may be useful. Strengths Amazon has several strengths, the first mover advantage was costly to gain, taking many years for the company  to make a profit, however it created a brand name with a high level of recognition with operation in many countries. This brand awareness is a competitive advantage in itself,  research has indicated that when a consumer looks at buying a product on line they are likely to look at between 3 - 4 retailers before making there decision, many  consumers will look only at 1 or 2 internet sellers that they trust (Chaffrey, 2004). By having a well known name and a large consumer base this increases the chances  of consumer making purchases. The set up of the operation is also such that the economies of scope and scale may be realised, cheap out of town warehousing and  the contracting out of the deliveries to postal services keep costs low, some of which are passed onto consumers with prices lower than bricks and mortar shops. The added information,  not only the customer reviews which are encouraged with a draw for an Amazon voucher, but many books have the facility to search in the text for key words or  browse the text for a taste go the book. This is allowing the company to compete more directly with books shops by offering similar facilities, this is a form of  differentiation and as such as source of competitive advantage (Mintzberg et al, 2003). The i-click system for buying with a single click is also an advantage making it easy  to buy the goods (Amazon, 2007). The ability to sell good that never come through the warehouse may also be seen as an efficient model, this is seen with