Amazon’s Core Product

You may never have thought about this but what exactly is Amazon’s core product? Most people would probably say that it’s books? But Wharton business economics and public policy professor Katja Seim told Knowledge@Wharton that Amazon’s true “core product” is convenience. If that’s the case, have your students think about the questions below.

Class Discussion Questions

• What products have you ordered from Amazon?
• How can other stores compete with Amazon, if the core product is a service, such as quick delivery? What should be their core product?

Seim co-authored the research paper, “Economies of Density in E-Commerce: A Study of Amazon’s Fulfillment Center Network,” with Cornell’s Jean-Francois Houde and Penn State’s Peter Newberry.