amazon-revenue-model

How Amazon Revenue Model Changed In Four Years

Amazon has a business model with many moving parts. The e-commerce platform generated $220 billion in 2022, followed by third-party stores services which generated over $117 billion; Amazon AWS, which generated over $80 billion; Amazon advertising which generated almost $38 billion and Amazon Prime, which generated over $35 billion, and physical stores which generated almost $19 billion.

 

 

The Amazon’s Empire

Amazon is the largest online store in the world.

Starting out as an online bookstore, Amazon now embraces any product you can ever imagine. Jeff Bezos, one of the wealthiest and most influential people in business on earth, has managed to survive the dot-com bubble while building a company that would stay for years to come.

In this blog, we covered the Amazon business model from several perspectives. From how its prime membership segment was growing and how Amazon has been shifting from a core commerce company to a company that offers a complete experience to its members.

Related: How Amazon Makes Money: Amazon Business Model in a Nutshell

While the revenues from products, in 2014 represented about 77% of its revenues it then became about 61% in 2017. Indeed, other segments like AWS, subscription services, and third-party seller services has become a massive business, given Amazon scale.

Indeed, I pointed out how Amazon has been in part “swallowing the fish” as it was moving more and more to a subscription-based business model. However, even there Amazon strategy is relentless toward growth. When more people become prime members, they also spend more on the platform. Amazon makes more money. The company also runs on tight profit margins on its product sales, as it leverages the cash conversion cycle to generate a massive short-liquidity for the business, used to expand quickly and take over several industries.

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Connected to Amazon Business Model

Walmart vs. Amazon

amazon-vs-walmart
In 2022, Amazon closed its divide in terms of total revenue, as it generated over $513 billion in revenue, compared to over $572 billion in revenue from Walmart.

eBay vs. Amazon

ebay-vs-amazon
In 2021, Amazon generated almost $470 billion in revenue, vs. eBay’s over $10.4 billion. In comparison, looking at revenues, Amazon was 45x times larger than eBay.

Is Amazon Profitable without AWS?

is-amazon-profitable-without-aw
Amazon was not profitable once AWS was removed in 2022. In fact, Amazon, without AWS generated $10.6 billion in operating losses. While Amazon, without AWS, generated $12.2. billion operating income.

Is Amazon Profitable?

is-amazon-profitable

Amazon Business Model

amazon-business-model
Amazon has a diversified business model. In 2021 Amazon posted over $469 billion in revenues and over $33 billion in net profits. Online stores contributed to over 47% of Amazon revenues, Third-party Seller Services,  Amazon AWS, Subscription Services, Advertising revenues, and Physical Stores.

Amazon Mission Statement

amazon-vision-statement-mission-statement (1)
Amazon’s mission statement is to “serve consumers through online and physical stores and focus on selection, price, and convenience.” Amazon’s vision statement is “to be Earth’s most customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover anything they might want to buy online, and endeavors to offer its customers the lowest possible prices.” 

Customer Obsession

customer-obsession
In the Amazon Shareholders’ Letter for 2018, Jeff Bezos analyzed the Amazon business model, and it also focused on a few key lessons that Amazon as a company has learned over the years. These lessons are fundamental for any entrepreneur, of small or large organization to understand the pitfalls to avoid to run a successful company!

Amazon Revenues

amazon-revenue-model
Amazon has a business model with many moving parts. With the e-commerce platform which generated over $222 billion in 2021, followed by third-party stores services which generated over $103 billion, Amazon AWS, which generated over $62 billion, Amazon advertising which generated over $31 billion and Amazon Prime which also generated over $31 billion, and physical stores which generated over $17 billion.

Amazon Cash Conversion

cash-conversion-cycle-amazon

Working Backwards

working-backwards
The Amazon Working Backwards Method is a product development methodology that advocates building a product based on customer needs. The Amazon Working Backwards Method gained traction after notable Amazon employee Ian McAllister shared the company’s product development approach on Quora. McAllister noted that the method seeks “to work backwards from the customer, rather than starting with an idea for a product and trying to bolt customers onto it.”

Amazon Flywheel

amazon-flywheel
The Amazon Flywheel or Amazon Virtuous Cycle is a strategy that leverages on customer experience to drive traffic to the platform and third-party sellers. That improves the selections of goods, and Amazon further improves its cost structure so it can decrease prices which spins the flywheel.

Jeff Bezos Day One

jeff-bezos-day-1
In the letter to shareholders in 2016, Jeff Bezos addressed a topic he had been thinking quite profoundly in the last decades as he led Amazon: Day 1. As Jeff Bezos put it “Day 2 is stasis. Followed by irrelevance. Followed by excruciating, painful decline. Followed by death. And that is why it is always Day 1.”

Amazon Competitors

amazon-competitors

Read Next: Organizational Structure, Amazon Business Model, Amazon Mission.

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