How Amazon Is Secretly Altering the Future

Amazon keeps raising the bar for Ecommerce, but recently Amazon has shown scale that could make it the leading technology company overtaking companies like Google, Microsoft, Apple, Facebook and others in the near future. To put this in context, 

If you had bought $3,000 worth of Amazon stock in its IPO, in 1997, would make you a millionaire today. 

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The Crazy Advantage of being First to Market 

Amazon is not just anticipatory, it recognizes the huge importance of the race to AI in being the most lucrative company. This is the real story behind it's impressive Alexa via Amazon Echo. 

Amazon is often called innovative, but its success goes beyond that, its recognition of the important trends and ability to be first to market in those areas is what makes it a truly disruptive company. 

When Bezos says: 

There is so much more to come. We’re the first guys up to bat. We’re on the edge of a golden era.”

It's safe to say many believe this is quite literal. Amazon's ability to scale into lucrative markets and set the bar in the creation of a disruptive brand that can translate to many verticals is what's most impressive about this era-defining company.

Only Google can compete in AI, while Apple, Microsoft and even Facebook have in many ways failed to capitalize on their window of opportunity to stay relevant. Why does Amazon have a $280 Billion dollar valuation? 

Subscription Model Owns Retention 

Amazon's prime offers up so much convenience, you'd literally have to be crazy not to be a member. Retention rates of the bundle of services are through the roof. To compete with this for retail, even big-box retail is virtually impossible and of course impossible to replicate. It's all about being first to market to create the most lucrative subscription model, additional revenue streams and its own private brand labels. 

Amazon has close to 60 Million Prime members in the U.S. 44% of all online shopping now takes place on Amazon, with 74% of prime members also purchasing items from Amazon. 

A Disruptive Subscription Model 

The real reason this subscription model is a cash cow is each member spends on average $1,100 per year. That's a very lucrative CLV (customer lifetime value), if you take into account the amazing retention rates we mentioned previously. 

It's very likely Wal-Mart reacted too slowly to Amazon's digital dominance. What's even more scary is how Amazon is scaling in AI and becoming a worldwide major grocery delivery solution. This is further taking share away from Walmart, Target and their traditional space.

While SMB retailers can add convenience, competing with Amazon directly is impossible since they have the subscription model that has scaled due to the ultra high customer retention rates, that includes: disruptive shipping speed, low prices, retail ecosystem, ecommerce fluency and now one of the most recognizable brands in the world, etc...

Amazon Scales us into the Future

While Amazon is becoming the go-to solution, it's thinking 10 or 20 years ahead of the game. 

Amazon is best positioned company to integrate robotics, AI and 3D printing into its ecosystem and multiple streams of revenue. Amazon's mobile app has 30 million monthly active users. In terms of brand recognition, Amazon is the new Apple. 

Ideas that Are First to Market Disruptive 

Elon Musk has the right idea, of machines building machines. Tesla's Model 3 factory, really is inspiring for a manufacturing as a service mentality. With robotics widely being adopted and increased in 2016, we are on the cusp of another automation push, and likely Amazon will be one of the key trail blazers. 

To but it bluntly, Ecommerce and Cloud Services were just the warm-up game for Amazon to learn how to do things right. 

What is clear in 2016 is that Amazon is going after bigger fish, and in choosing their conquests that offer it the best chance to be first to market, Amazon can be the Uber of disruption in ways we haven't fully realized yet (but it has). 

How do you believe Amazon can accelerate the rise of the exponential tech race among major corporations?