11 Facts About Amazon

Amazon Logo Icon (credit: amazon)

To be straightforward, the majority of us believe we are familiar with Amazon. After you click, it ships and gets there. Is that the conclusion of the the narrative? Not exactly. The corporation behind those brown boxes has a weird history, a history of wild experimentation, and some movements that fundamentally changed the way we read, shop, as well as take into account technology. The following 11 facts about Amazon may change your perspective on the company, regardless of whether you are an inquisitive consumer, a business person observing e-commerce patterns, or an individual that was always interested in how Jeff Bezos progressed from selling books online to managing one of the most significant businesses in the world.

1. Amazon Started as a Bookstore: Jeff Bezos started Amazon in his garage earlier in 1994. And yeah, it was centered around books at first, not a multinational technological giant. Bezos thought books were the finest product to offer online because he thought the internet was going to take off. After a number of years, the value of the garage project has risen to over a trillion dollars.

2. Amazon’s First Name Idea Was "Cadabra": Bezos nearly called the business "Cadabra" prior to deciding on "Amazon," drawing inspiration from the word "abracadabra." However, Bezos cautiously concluded that it could possibly not express the ideal mood for an online store following a lawyer interpreting it as "cadaver."

3. Amazon Was Almost Named "Relentless": Bezos also thought about the name "Relentless." Actually, your browser continues to reroute to Amazon if you type relentless.com into it now. That degree of dedication reveals many things with regard to Bezos's attitude...unrelenting, truly.

4. Amazon’s First Logo Had a River: A gigantic "A" with a river running through it was part of Amazon's logo prior to the now-common smile logo. Bezos intended the business to be as expansive and broad as the actual Amazon, so the reference to the Amazon River fitted the perfect sense.

5. Amazon Patented “1-Click” Ordering: The one-click ordering technique offered by Amazon was innovative. When it was patented in 1999, it made it possible for loyal consumers to place orders with only a single click. The technology was even licensed by Apple for its online store. Thank (or criticize) this technology if you have ever made a hasty purchase at a startlingly high pace.

6. Amazon Once Delivered via Horse: Although it may appear fictitious, Amazon shipments were dropped off by horse in rural Colorado in 2009. In order to get to faraway residences where regular cars would not reach, a local courier on horseback was sought out. It is a tiny but ideal illustration of the practical lengths Amazon are prepared to go to in order to bring you anything.

7. Amazon Has a "Just Walk Out" Store Technology: With no queues for checkout or cashiers, Amazon Go stores allow you to pick up your purchases and depart. Whatever you pick up is debited to your Amazon account because of sensors and cameras. Despite it sounding futuristic, the technology currently in use in a number of American towns.

8. Amazon’s Fulfillment Centers Use Over 750,000 Robots: Indeed, over 750,000 robots work for Amazon in its fulfillment centers, assisting with the movement, sorting, and packing of goods. Although they are not totally substituting people, they are certainly speeding up the backstage operations.

9. Amazon Web Services Started as an Internal Tool: The cloud computing division of Amazon, AWS, began as an internal tool to oversee their own expanding technology. In the long run, it served as the foundation for plenty of businesses, hosting applications, websites, as well as Netflix's streaming service. AWS now accounts for a significant amount of Amazon's earnings.

10. Amazon Once Had a Phone Called Fire Phone: Amazon released the Fire Phone, their own smartphone, in 2014. Just about a year, it was abandoned due to its severe failure. It serves as a warning that major faults are occasionally made by even the largest businesses. Hey, though, they recovered.

11. Amazon Owns Over 100 Private Label Brands: With over 100 private-label products, Amazon offers everything from apparel to coffee to pet food. AmazonBasics and Solimo are two well-known brands, while plenty of others are less well-known and silently compete with similar goods offered by various other platform vendors.

Summary: Amazon’s Wild Ride to The Top

It is easy to assume that technology or circumstance alone are responsible for the prosperity of Amazon. A closer look reveals a combination of risk-taking, measured risks, as well as some truly odd choices that ultimately turned out well. Even the greatest achievements have unexpected turns and obstacles, as seen by Amazon's journey there, we said it, from nearly being dubbed "Cadabra" to creating an army of robots. Perhaps that is the true lesson here: there is no ideal roadmap in life or business. Sometimes the accounts that we appreciate the most are the seemingly insignificant ones, such as a horse delivery or a broken phone. When the following time you click "Buy Now," you are going to understand that there is much more happening aside from two-day shipping, if nothing else.