Need more evidence why Amazon continues to see phenomenal growth (and needs to be a top channel for any online retailer)? Today’s New York Times has a great article on a Christmas saved by Amazon. The author ordered and had delivered to his door step a PlayStation 3, but it was stolen. He calls Amazon, explains the incident and receives a replacement just in time to be a hero for his sons.

Amazon (Jeff Bezos) has relentlessly focused on the customer experience at what sometimes must seem to the outside world ridiculous costs (Amazon Prime?):

“They care about having the lowest prices, having vast selection, so they have choice, and getting the products to customers fast,” he said. “And the reason I’m so obsessed with these drivers of the customer experience is that I believe that the success we have had over the past 12 years has been driven exclusively by that customer experience. We are not great advertisers. So we start with customers, figure out what they want, and figure out how to get it to them.”

In a thread on Amazon’s media-centric seller forum I read last night a complaint about the 15% commission Amazon charges to which another seller replied:

“15% is a bargain when you consider how many customers you can reach, worldwide. Come into my shop with a dealer certificate and you get a 20% discount. So Amazon gets a 15% discount for finding a customer for my books. I’ll take that any day of the week!”

With 78 million fiercely-loyal consumers that shop on the most trusted retail destination on the internet 15% commission (remember, no listing fee) strikes me sometimes as a bargain. Very interesting stat in the article that 52% of all online shoppers (according to Forester Research) do their product research on Amazon. Not surprising really — it’s often where I start.

Related posts:

1. Introducing the Amazon Customer Metrics Scorecard Amazon announced the launch of its new Customer Metrics Scorecard designed to give online retailers a clear and visual indicator of their performance. While the...
2. Was Amazon’s Customer Vote a good idea? Seeking Alpha has a good analysis of this year's Amazon Customer Vote hoopla that resulted in lots of shoppers being disappointed over NOT winning anything....
3. Customer voting returns to Amazon.com Last year's "Customers Vote" event during Q4 brought Amazon to its knees with the site temporarily going down. Amazon.com is bringing the feature back starting...