Comments on: 10 Reasons Not to Copy Amazon

By: MP

MP — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 21:16:13 +0000

Because Amazon is a conversion machine. It may not be beautiful, but it is incredibly effective at getting customers across the finish line. The fact that they convert at the rate they do with an assortment so broad is a testament to the effectiveness of the design at turning visitors into customers.

By: Linda Bustos

Linda Bustos — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 16:33:37 +0000

Fast shipping would be something to emulate about Amazon, but is difficult for many retailers who don’t enjoy multiple warehouses in multiple locations, which is one of Amazon’s key strengths.

By: Alexander

Alexander — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 07:39:27 +0000

I just don’t get why people and even many designers think that Amazon is a great example of user experience and interface design… The only reason they might be considered cool today is because Amazon is pretty much the only option.

By: Matthew Bertulli

Matthew Bertulli — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 22:17:21 +0000

Great post again Linda.

I’m sure you’ve thought of this, but reason #9 is actually a great reason to COPY amazon in certain things (when they make sense for your business).

Because Amazon can afford to fail in a big way, they have the ability to try out leading edge stuff that smaller e-tailers can’t. For this reason, among many, they are sort of the bench mark in eCommerce and in my opinion is the reason so many do want to copy so much of amazon.

Of course I’m not disagreeing with what you say here, just that there is the flip side to this particular point.

By: Thomas Parrott

Thomas Parrott — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 12:06:22 +0000

The article makes some pertinent points but how about flipping Reason 8 on its head?
You should copy Amazon and test every aspect of the site changes you make like crazy.

By: John Hyde

John Hyde — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 08:08:01 +0000

Amazon can get away with some errors like the bad registration proces because the strength of the brand gives people enough momentum to get through troublesome processes.

For a smaller / unknown etailer the site visitor would bail out at these sticking points.

By: Service Desk

Service Desk — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 05:06:48 +0000

Amazon is great and really has built a good reputation. Ebay has lots of problems but the positive thing is that they have sites that cater to other countries too. I hope Amazon does that too.

By: Dude

Dude — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 23:49:05 +0000

The article forgot to mention fast shipping added to the equation. Amazon and Newegg are my favorite online retailers. I don’t buy from anyone else.

By: Mark

Mark — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 22:07:56 +0000

Great ones Linda – nicely done.

I’ve got one to add – as good as they are they sometimes leave glaring holes in their process.

Check out http://conversionvoodoo.com/blog/2010/06/a-glaring-conversion-error-that-amazon-needs-to-fix/ – I’d send a direct link to amazon if I could find one – their programming-focused culture names a lot of the pages in consumer-unfriendly terms!

By: Linda Bustos

Linda Bustos — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 18:08:08 +0000

Yes that is very annoying. Forrester Research found that you’ll lose 23% of customers at the log in screen if you require registration before checkout. Also, Jared Spool (who works with Amazon on usability) found some people had up to 10 different Amazon accounts because they couldn’t remember email/password combos. What a nightmare.