Analysis Of Amazon Online Shopping Experience

Since 1995, Amazon has established itself as the world’s leader in e-commerce. Its success is not a fluke, nor is it merely the result of being in the right place at the right time.
Amazon’s success is the direct result of a strong user shopping experience.
In this article, we will discuss a number of features of the Amazon shopping experience that will, either in principle or practically, offer a model worthy of imitation by e-commerce developers today.

Content Tailored to the Current User
 One example of customized content is seen on the home page, which modifies the main content based on how the user (whether logged in or not) has interacted with the product search feature:

 

As Amazon does, a good e-commerce website will track client-side behavior (on the server-side) to ensure that subsequent visits of each user are increasingly tailored to their tastes and habits.
This increases the likelihood that the user will make a purchase, and in some cases it will speed up the purchasing process.
More significantly, it exposes the user to a wider range of products and services that tie in to their areas of interest.

Various “Why Shop With Us” Reminders

The Amazon shopping experience is littered with reminders of why the user should purchase a product from Amazon rather than from some other source (online or otherwise).
A few examples are shown and discussed below.
As Amazon does, a good e-commerce website will track client-side behavior (on the server-side) to ensure that subsequent visits of each user are increasingly tailored to their tastes and habits.
This increases the likelihood that the user will make a purchase, and in some cases it will speed up the purchasing process.
More significantly, it exposes the user to a wider range of products and services that tie in to their areas of interest.

Various “Why Shop With Us” Reminders

The Amazon shopping experience is littered with reminders of why the user should purchase a product from Amazon rather than from some other source (online or otherwise).
A few examples are shown and discussed below.

Prices Compared to Suggested Retail

Each product displayed above has not only the discounted price offered by Amazon, but also the MRSP (manufacturer’s suggested retail price, or “list price”).
This simple feature, which is instantly understood by the user because of the strike-through text, is seen with virtually every product on Amazon.
It says to the user (not in so many words), “Here’s why you should buy this item from us”. This is a simple but strong sales incentive that has no doubt boosted Amazon’s revenue.

User Notified of “Free Shipping” Early On

Another good example of the “Why shop with us” reminder is shown in the image above. After the user has added some items to their shopping cart, a large distinct yellow banner appears at the top of the screen, telling the user that they now qualify for free shipping.
The banner also helpfully includes a link to any restrictions that may apply.
Logically, the notice of “free shipping” should come as a step in the “shipping options”, but that process occurs after the user has shown a commitment to the items in their shopping cart.
So, displaying this yellow banner as soon as the user’s cart qualifies for free shipping increases the likelihood that they will follow through on their purchase. Again, the yellow banner in effect states, “Here’s another good reason to buy from us”.

The “Search Inside” Feature

The preview menu for the “Look Inside” feature also has a small box labeled “Search Inside This Book”, which lets the user search the entire book, not just the sections available for preview.
When the user selects an option from the “Look Inside” menu, a lightbox pops up, giving the user a product preview that is almost as good as holding the book in your hands