This case study focuses on how Amazon has utilized digital technology to reach out to more customers as it realises the importance of convenience for its readers. Its product the Kindle is an e-reader that offers an alternative to hard copy books. The Kindle offers readers the mobility and efficiency when purchasing and reading books.
Amazon has also furthered its opportunities by partnering with certain companies namely Apple, Penguin and Lonely Planet. Although the Kindle is the market leader in the e-book market, it has strong competitors i.e. IPad. Rather than viewing Apple as a competitor, Amazon took this opportunity to reach out to more of its customer base, namely through Apple users. By offering the free Kindle app to Apple and Android products, Amazon has widened its access to potential readers. Amazon has partnered with publishers Penguin and Lonely Planet who are vital suppliers to e-books. In order to appeal to readers, the Kindle has to offer its customers a variety of books to choose from. To do this they require digital books that can only be supplied in large quantities by big publishing companies who have a variety of books they’ve published and can offer to the Kindle. Thus by forming the right relationships with other businesses, Amazon has be able to position itself well in the e-book market and to penetrate into other digital markets too.
By understanding the changing needs of the market, Amazon has identified the appropriate product that can satisfy its customers. Reading is a hobby for many people and many desire to do so but find it impractical carrying books around and find they have little time to read them. Thus by digitialising books, they have given customers the ability to read anywhere and everywhere. By offering the free app to smart phones, this is especially convenient as most people use smart phones every minute of every day and thus this encourages more people to read as they