Hunter Hess

The Effects of an E-Commerce Revolution Hunter Hess

Amazon and Sears are two of the most influential companies on the planet. Both companies drastically changed their industries, and both companies experienced rapid growth - yet they achieved this in two very different eras. Sears was an iconic retailer in the U. S. for over a century. Starting with mail-order catalogs, Sears became a household name by offering quality items at affordable prices. The Sears Catalog allowed the company to send products to nearly every American household, whether it was located in a rural or urban area, enabling the company to become the original disruptor of the commerce industry. Over time, the company entered the brick-and-mortar retail business, and their massive stores quickly became anchor retailers for malls across the United States. Amazon, like Sears, experienced rapid growth due to their electronic commerce platform, which provided them with the same competitive advantage that Sears used to accelerate their growth. With this, Amazon.com became the new industry disruptor and changed the way we shop forever. The success of Amazon.com is often attributed to killing "the most innovative retailer of all time" with a strategy of innovation. Amazon, however, has taken a similar strategy to Sears during its infancy, leaving reason to believe history could repeat itself, leading to an eventual replacement of E-commerce and potentially, Amazon.com. In this book, Hunter Hess explores the full history of these two companies, determines weaknesses in the E-commerce business model, and examines today's trends and Amazon's strategy to determine if the company is doing enough to overcome the weaknesses of E-commerce, or if they are destined to eventually experience the same tragic fate as Sears.