Amazon has steered something of a home shopping revolution. Who in the US or UK hasn’t used Amazon at some point in the past decade? What grew from a simple online bookstore is now a multi-billion enterprise offering entertainment, next-day delivery, and more. However, the company’s also had a few reputational hiccups over the years. Let’s take a look at some fun facts about Amazon.com to help clue you in.
1. Amazon was founded in the 1990s.
Amazon, or Amazon.com, Inc. is an American multinational technology company – Jeff Bezos, who became the world’s richest man on the back of the company’s success, founded it on July 5, 1994. It has since become one of the biggest online retailers the world over.
Bezos, in fact, was completely new to running businesses when he set up Amazon from a garage. He had recently quit working as an investment banker – and, before long, his leap into business ownership started paying off!
2. Amazon was mainly known for books, at least to begin with.
Many of us still remember Amazon for being a go-to place for buying used and new books online! In fact, that was the company’s initial niche – but over the years, it’s expanded massively to retail a huge range of products and services – you can now buy clothes, household items, electronics, and even groceries through Amazon!
Amazon’s prominence as a bookstore started building a year after Bezos set up the firm. The company sold its first-ever book, Douglas Hofstadter’s “Fluid Concepts And Creative Analogies: Computer Models Of The Fundamental Mechanisms Of Thought,” in 1995.
3. Amazon is headquartered in the US, but has locations across the globe.
Amazon’s headquartered in Seattle, Washington, US. However, the company has a global presence and operates in multiple countries worldwide. So, the chances are you may have even driven past an Amazon HQ at some point – they distribute cross-continents!
In fact, Amazon is so large, it splits its headquarters across 40 different buildings in Seattle alone! Its other major campuses are easy to spot in Luxembourg, London, and Hyderabad.
4. There’s a secret in Amazon’s logo.
Most of us can instantly recognise Amazon by its iconic logo. However, did you know there’s a hidden meaning in the design?
Amazon’s logo depicts a smiley face with an arrow connecting the letters “A” and “Z,” suggesting that Amazon offers everything from “A to Z!” Clever and recognizable – it’s one of the best logo designs to emerge over the past decade.
5. Amazon offers more than just shopping.
Amazon has diversified its business operations massively – it offers more than just delivery. It operates cloud computing services (Amazon Web Services or AWS), digital streaming (Amazon Prime Video), smart home devices (Amazon Echo), and more! In fact, some of the most popular content today is created by Amazon, but more on that later.
Amazon Luna, too, is another popular service offered by the company as an add-on to its main memberships. Luna is a game streaming service where players pay a monthly subscription to access a rolling set of titles to play via their TVs – all stored in the cloud meaning there’s no need for a hard drive.
6. Amazon is perhaps most known for Prime nowadays.
Amazon Prime is a famous subscription service offered by the company that provides members with benefits such as free two-day shipping, access to streaming content, and exclusive deals. It’s quickly become Amazon’s flagship product. They’d even piloted a drone delivery scheme, too!
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Amazon saw huge profit spikes as people were locked down in their homes. It’s thought the company’s Prime services helped them command a 220% increase in sales by spring 2021!
7. Amazon’s revolutionized shopping, but some argue not for the better.
Amazon famously revolutionized the retail industry by introducing one-click purchasing, personalized recommendations, and speedy delivery – however, many traditional retailers are understandably not too happy about it! While many retail through Amazon as third parties, some worry that the ecommerce giant has swallowed up a huge amount of trade.
The company’s continued to expand, however. A surprise $2.7 billion net loss in 2022 soon became a $30.4 billion income in 2023, meaning it’s unlikely we’ve seen the last of the firm!
8. Amazon supports communities and causes.
Amazon also strives to give back to communities through its continued revenue building. For example, the firm is committed to supporting people through its Amazon Future Engineer program, and has delivered relief to people undergoing hardship due to fires across the US west coast.
Until 2023, Amazon offered a service called “Smile” that let shoppers donate 0.5% of the money they paid for goods to charities of their choice. Sadly, the program has since closed down.
9. You can buy from Amazon in person, too.
Strange but true – but Amazon even has a convenience store in Amazon Go! The reverse of online purchasing, these bricks-and-mortar stores are built to combat shoplifting by charging customers for anything they pick up as they exit – they get charged directly to their associated cards and don’t have to pay at a cashier!
Right now, there are Go stores in the US and the UK, with locations having expanded to more than 40 since its flagship opened in 2016.
FAQs About Amazon.com
What is AWS?
AWS stands for Amazon Web Services, a cloud computing solution through which users can purchase off-site server support, hosting, and storage space.
Does AWS fall under Amazon?
Yes, AWS is one of the services that Amazon provides. Therefore, AWS does fall under the Amazon company.
Does Amazon offer any free services?
Amazon FreeVee is a free streaming service that Amazon provides. The service has plenty of television series and films to choose from, with the catch only being that you have to deal with commercials as you would have once with regular television channels!
Further reading:
https://www.amazon.com
https://www.linkedin.com/company/amazon
Do you know any fun facts about Amazon.com? Share them in the comments below!
