Milestone after milestone, Amazon has grown from an online bookstore in Jeff Bezos’ garage to the world’s largest Internet company by revenue. It is considered to be one of the most influential economic forces across the world. What predetermined its success, and what are the steps to be taken to achieve the same heights?

Reasons for Amazon’s success

strategy

Amazon has been following the principles that have become part of its strategy since its inception. This includes:

• Customer First; They make the customer experience the center of everything they do while the focus on competitors is secondary;
• Investing in technologies and scaling up innovations;
• A commitment to operational excellence means always looking for areas of improvement;
• Ability to think ahead.

user friendly design

Despite the interface that may seem outdated compared to modern web design trends, we must give respect to its user experience design. User-friendly and intuitive, it aims to simplify the processes of search and purchase.

For the trust and convenience of customers, Amazon focuses on providing complete and accurate information about products. Descriptions include informative descriptions, high-quality product images (which also allow products to be viewed from different angles), and reviews.

convenient payment

Amazon pursues the goal of meeting the needs of all customers. For this reason, it not only provides all kinds of products to the viewers but also makes sure that the customers can buy them using any convenient option. Amazon customers use a number of payment methods, including credit and debit cards such as Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and more. In addition, they can order gift cards for purchases.

fast access

Speed ​​is an essential factor in the success of an e-commerce platform, and Amazon has managed to nail it. Technology and human dexterity help in processing orders immediately after they are placed. Thanks to the logistics algorithm and global supply chain, Amazon workers ship packages incredibly fast. What’s more, Amazon has multiple delivery modes of transportation and planes. Hence, it enables same day and next day shipping which are undeniable advantages of e-commerce business.

How to Build a Platform Like Amazon: Key Steps

If you have ambitions to replicate and beat Amazon’s success, you must start with an excellent business strategy. First, you have to create a minimum viable product. The MVP is built to quickly launch the platform without a large budget and then scale it up bit by bit to implement new features and possibilities for the business and its customers. Keep reading to learn the basic steps you need to take in order to be successful.

discovery phase

The Discovery phase bridges the theoretical concept of the product and its technical realization. This phase is supposed to evaluate the product and help determine the needs of the client, end-user, and stakeholders. More targets of discovery include:

• market research
• target audience research
• defining the unique value proposition
• develop a product roadmap

Other important topics to cover would be defining the requirements, setting up the required facilities, and estimating the overall project scope, resources, and budget.

By the end of the discovery phase, you should be able to answer how to build an e-commerce platform and define your means to succeed.

Deciding on the Tech Stack

Choosing the right technology stack ensures proper performance of your product. After determining all the core features, the next step you need to take is to select the technology stack to implement the required features. Tech stack mostly depends on the requirements and budget.

design concept creation

Good design creates a positive experience for your user and, as a result, helps meet their needs.

Creating a UI/UX concept means determining how the future product will function and look keeping in mind the convenience of the customers. Remember that the design concept does not represent the final result of how your product will look and feel. Design conceptualization pursues the goal of clarifying whether the chosen direction is appropriate for all stakeholders – the customer, the team, and the users.

mvp development

Launching a minimum viable product means presenting to the world a product that supports the minimum yet essential features that are in line with its unique value proposition. Once the product is launched, continue to maintain it to make sure everything is working as intended and to continue the ongoing development and improvement of the product. There is no limit to perfection, right?

Challenges of e-commerce platforms like Amazon

Following the success of a worldwide leading company like Amazon is no easy task. Difficulties may also arise at the stage of recruitment of personnel. For example, here are step-by-step tips for hiring a software engineer. It is clear that hiring any specialist requires a certain approach if you want to surround yourself with quality employees.

We advise you to think about the possible risks ahead and be ready to face many challenges.

highly competitive market

Amazon is a global marketplace that sells all kinds of products to everyone around the world. In addition to Amazon, there are giants such as eBay, Walmart or Alibaba that have large and loyal audiences. Entering this market means competing with global corporations.

logistics system

Logistics and supply chain are key factors in Amazon’s success. When deciding to build an e-commerce platform, first of all, you should think about the logistics system and define how the goods will be delivered to prevent possible delays.

Price determination

Slashing prices and encouraging customers to make purchases during sale periods is part of a marketplace’s strategy to attract visitors. However, there appears to be a dilemma of how to stay profitable while reducing prices. The answer to this question would be a dynamic pricing algorithm that aims to create an ideal price. The algorithm takes into account competitors’ prices, supply, seasonality and demand. As a result, both the market and the customer will benefit from lower prices, even though the goods will not always be cheaper compared to competing markets.

wrapping up

Hopefully, you now understand how to start building an e-commerce platform like Amazon. For more detailed information, head over to this blog article on what it costs to build a platform like Amazon.

Read also: Top Reasons Why You Should Invest in E-Commerce