Amazon.com 2007 Annual Report Download - page 12

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Price
We endeavor to offer our customers the lowest prices possible through low everyday product pricing and
free shipping offers. We also strive to improve our operating efficiencies so that we can continue to lower prices
for our customers. We enable sellers to offer their products on our sites, in many instances alongside our product
selection, and to set their own retail prices.
Convenience
Our software engineers, computer scientists, merchandisers, and management team focus on continuous
innovation to enhance convenience. We work to earn repeat purchases by providing easy-to-use functionality,
fast and reliable fulfillment, timely customer service, feature-rich and authoritative content, and a trusted
transaction environment. Key features of our websites include editorial and customer reviews; manufacturer
product information; gift guides; Web pages tailored to individual preferences, such as recommendations and
notifications; 1-Click technology; secure payment systems; digital content; searching; browsing; and the ability
to view selected interior pages and citations, and search the entire contents of many of the books we offer with
our “Search Inside the Book” feature. Our community of online customers also creates feature-rich content,
including product reviews, online recommendation lists, wish lists, image uploads, video reviews, buying guides,
customer discussions, and wedding and baby registries.
We endeavor to fulfill customer orders quickly and accurately, and to provide intuitive self-service features
that assist our customers when they have questions. We communicate our fulfillment promise in several ways,
such as presenting up-to-date inventory availability information, delivery date estimates, and options for
expedited delivery, as well as delivery shipment notifications. Customers can use the “Your Account” website
features to track order and shipment status, review estimated delivery dates, cancel items not yet shipped, change
delivery instructions and payment options, combine orders, edit gift options, and return items. Additionally,
when customers have questions, we provide an email address and phone number to contact customer service
directly and an intuitive click-to-call feature on our help pages so customers can quickly and conveniently speak
with a customer service representative.
We fulfill customer orders in a number of ways, including through the U.S. and international fulfillment
centers and warehouses that we operate; through fulfillment centers operated under co-sourcing arrangements,
including our fulfillment center supporting www.amazon.co.jp; through outsourced fulfillment providers,
including our fulfillment providers supporting www.amazon.ca; and through fulfillment arrangements with other
sellers. We operate customer service centers globally, which are supplemented by several co-sourcing customer
service arrangements with third parties. See Item 2 of Part I, “Properties,” for additional information about
fulfillment centers and customer service locations.
Marketing and Promotion
Our marketing strategy is designed to increase customer traffic to our websites, drive awareness of products
and services we offer, promote repeat purchases, develop incremental product and service revenue opportunities,
and strengthen and broaden the Amazon.com brand name. We believe our most effective marketing efforts result
from our focus on continuously improving the customer experience, which drives word-of-mouth promotion and
repeat customer visits. We also deliver personalized Web pages and services and employ a variety of media,
business development activities, and promotional methods. We employ various means of advertising, which
consist primarily of online advertising, including through our Associates program, sponsored search, portal
advertising, e-mail campaigns, and other initiatives. Our Associates program directs customers to our websites by
enabling independent websites to make millions of products available to their audiences with fulfillment
performed by us or third parties. We pay commissions to participants in our Associates program for click-
through customer referrals and customer referrals resulting in product sales, subject to the terms of the specific
commission agreement.
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