MKT00720: A Detailed Report on Amazon Australia's Marketing Strategy

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Amazon Australia's marketing strategies, examining its entry into the Australian market and its impact on existing retailers. It evaluates the effectiveness of Amazon's two-pronged strategy, focusing on differentiation and customer-centric approaches. The report analyzes Amazon Australia's marketing mix, including product offerings, distribution channels, promotional activities, and pricing strategies. It also discusses the challenges faced by Amazon in Australia, such as adverse customer and retailer responses, and suggests strategic marketing options for improving the company's revenues, including enhanced differentiation, competitive pricing, and expanded distribution networks. The report concludes that Amazon needs to refine its marketing strategies to establish a stronger position in the Australian market and compete effectively with local retailers. Desklib provides access to similar solved assignments and resources for students.

Running head: MARKETING STRATEGY OF AMAZON AUSTRALIA
MARKETING STRATEGY OF AMAZON AUSTRALIA
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1MARKETING STRATEGY OF AMAZON AUSTRALIA
Executive Summary
The report is built on the analysis of the marketing strategies that have been implemented by
Amazon Australia. The ways by which Amazon is able to function in the country and provide
tough competition to the other physical retail stores have been able to provide a picture of the
company in Australia. The report has also been able to provide recommendations based on
the strategies which can help in the improving its operations and profitability in Australia.
The report can be concluded by stating that the improvement of marketing and distribution
based strategies are able to improve the revenues of Amazon in Australia.

2MARKETING STRATEGY OF AMAZON AUSTRALIA
Table of Contents
a. Introduction................................................................................................................3
b. Background to the Company......................................................................................3
c. Marketing Analysis....................................................................................................4
i. The Nature of Amazon Australia’s Marketing Strategy or Strategies since it
began......................................................................................................................................4
ii. Strategic Marketing Options for Amazon Australia moving forward...................6
d. Conclusion..................................................................................................................8
e. References..................................................................................................................9
g. Appendices...............................................................................................................11
Appendix 1...............................................................................................................11
Appendix 2...............................................................................................................11
Appendix 3...............................................................................................................12
Appendix 4...............................................................................................................13

3MARKETING STRATEGY OF AMAZON AUSTRALIA
a. Introduction
Marketing strategy is considered to be a long-term and forward looking type approach
which is based on the achievement of fundamental goals in an active way. The company is
thereby able to gain a competitive advantage in the industry with the help of proper
marketing based strategy. The initial situation which has been developed in an organization is
based on the process of effective strategic planning (Hill, Jones and Schilling 2014). The
market oriented type of competitive position in the industry is based on the methods by which
it is able to achieve the different goals of the company and the marketing objectives as well.
The report will be built on the study of the marketing strategy that has been
implemented by a firm in order to function in a country in an effective way. The organization
which has been considered for the study is Amazon. The marketing based strategy that has
been applied by Amazon in Australia will be analysed in the report in detail.
b. Background to the Company
Amazon.com is an American organization which operates in the electronic commerce
based industry and also provides cloud computing based services. The headquarter of the
organization is located in Seattle, Washington and was established by Jeff Bezos in the year
1994. Amazon has thereby been able to grow into the largest internet based retailer with the
help of its effective products and services that are presented to the consumers
(Amazon.com.au 2018).
The market capitalization and the revenues which have been earned by the company
are high. The website had started its business operations mainly as an online book store.
Further the operations of Amazon were expanded and different types of products were sold
which included video games, toys, food, jewellery and electronics. The company is also

4MARKETING STRATEGY OF AMAZON AUSTRALIA
known to sell many low end products to different types of consumers under the brand name
of Amazon Basics (Amazon.com.au 2018).
Amazon has been able to continue its business processes in many countries with the
help of the diverse range of services and products. The websites that are developed by
Amazon for the different countries are also different from each other. The report will be
mainly based on the Australian operations of Amazon and the strategies which have thereby
been implemented in the country (Amazon.com.au 2018).
c. Marketing Analysis
i. The Nature of Amazon Australia’s Marketing Strategy or Strategies since it began
The strategy which had been implemented by Amazon Australia at the time of its
entry in the country was the two pronged strategy. This strategy was mainly aimed at the
magnification of the impact of the organization and its operations on the other Australian
retailers. The competition that can thereby be provided to the retailers who are already
operating in Australia is quite high. The levels of competition which can be thereby be faced
by the different organizations are based on the methods by which Amazon Australia is able to
offer the products and services in an effective way (Abc.net.au 2018).
The market entries which have been made by the company in different countries in a
successful way have played a major role in deciding the process that is implemented by
Amazon. Amazon had been selling the products and services to customers with the help of its
website. However, the development of physical stores had been able to affect the retailers of
Australia. The marketing strategy which has been implemented by Amazon in different
countries is based on effective differentiation process (Coyne and Coyne 2018).

5MARKETING STRATEGY OF AMAZON AUSTRALIA
The high value which is provided by the company to its customers is considered to be
an important part of the marketing strategy which is implemented by Amazon. The different
offerings of the company are thereby helpful in keeping the prices of the products low. The
customer centric approach has been thereby implemented by the company in different areas
of its operations all over the world. The organization is thereby able to increase its presence
in the online retail industry with the assistance of customer centric based policy (Daspit et al.
2017). The distribution strategy that has been implemented by Amazon in Australia has been
able to develop its place in the retail industry of the country.
The marketing mix of Amazon Australia needs to be analysed in order to discuss the
marketing strategy in an effective manner. The marketing mix of the company is as follows,
Product – The international ecommerce based organization is able to offer a
wide range of products to the customers in an effective manner. The products
of the company are delivered to the consumers which can help in fulfilling the
needs and demands. The different products that are offered to the Australian
consumers include, books, DVDs, Kindle, gaming consoles and clothing items
for men and women (Frynas and Mellahi 2015).
Place – The company has been to develop its effective presence in various
parts of the world and Australia. The image which has been developed by the
brand in the country is related to the loyal base of customers. The effective
online presence of the company is thereby considered to be an important part
of the operations. The base of the organization is mainly located in the United
States and further the operations have been expanded all over the world (Hill,
Jones and Schilling 2014).
Promotion – The promotional activities that have been conducted by Amazon
have been able to provide the company with a profitable position in the

6MARKETING STRATEGY OF AMAZON AUSTRALIA
industry. The major promotional strategy which has been implemented by
Amazon is known as search engine marketing. This is thereby considered to
be a smart strategy of promotion which is able to provide the company with a
customer base (James 2016). The word of mouth based promotional strategy
has also worked for the company and the development of its customer base.
Price – The competitive pricing based policy has been implemented by
Amazon in order to attract the consumers. The pricing based strategy of the
firm has been able to offer the company with a loyal base of consumers. The
premium consumers are provided with lower prices and more facilities in
order to attract and then retain them as well (Kasemsap 2014).
The operations of Amazon had started with its first store in Melbourne and the
company had taken this step in order to increase its presence and to gain its foothold in the
ecommerce industry. The company had aimed at building an effective distribution strategy in
order to provide the products to the consumers within a short time. The distribution of
warehouse in area outside Melbourne has been able to increase the levels of profitability of
the company. The operations of Amazon in the country is thereby facilitated in an effective
manner by the distribution strategy which has been developed by the firm (Michael, Storey
and Thomas 2017).
Amazon has been able to bring huge number of jobs in the country. The Prime
membership based facilities have however not been provided by Amazon in Australia. The
consumers in Australia are able to take advantage of the facilities which are provided by the
company based on fast delivery options. The operations of the company in Australia is in the
early stages and Amazon still needs to develop its stores all over the country (Morschett,
Schramm-Klein and Zentes 2015).

7MARKETING STRATEGY OF AMAZON AUSTRALIA
ii. Strategic Marketing Options for Amazon Australia moving forward
The response that has been provided to the operations of Amazon in Australia has not
been highly enthusiastic in nature. The adverse response is provided to the company from the
customer side and the retailer side as well. The shoppers have thereby complained on
different social media platforms based on the poor levels of product selection and the pricing
related options as well. The retailers in the country are also not impressed by the start of
operations of Amazon in the country (Webalive.com.au 2018).
The arrival of Amazon in the country is not considered to be quite important for the
retailers who already have their operations in the country. The local retailers are thereby not
affected in the ways by which Amazon has decided to enter the Australian retail market. The
physical stores of Amazon have not been able to provide effective levels of competition to
the already operating retailers in the industry. The different retail based organizations like,
Harvey Norman and JB HiFi have started increasing their physical operations after the
announcement of the entry of Amazon in the retail industry of the country (Steinbach et al.
2017).
Amazon thereby has to implement active marketing and promotional approaches in
order to improve the revenues of the company in an effective way. The marketing strategy
which can be applied by the company in Australia is based on the effective differentiation
from the other organizations. The prices of the products need to be set in such a manner
which will help the company to compete with the physical retailers. The distribution based
strategy that has been applied by the company all over the world needs to be implemented in
an effective manner. The warehouses of the company need to be developed in many parts of
the country (Simon, Fischbach and Schoder 2014).

8MARKETING STRATEGY OF AMAZON AUSTRALIA
The increase in number of warehouses can help in the development of distribution
based strategy of Amazon. The distribution strategy will thereby be able to affect the methods
by which the firm is able to offer the products to the consumers. The advertising and
promotional strategies that have been implemented by the firm also need to be improved in
order to increase the awareness of the brand all over Australia. This will help the company to
provide tough competition to the other physical stores which are already operating in
Australia (Sakas, Vlachos and Nasiopoulos 2014).
d. Conclusion
The report can be determined by asserting that Amazon Australia has not been able to
create its position in accordance to that which has been created by the company all over the
world. The company thereby needs to improve its strategies based on marketing and further
implement new strategies in order to function in the market in a profitable way. The
organizations which already have their operations in the country are also facing threat from
the huge retail based organization. The improvement in distribution based strategies will
further be able to play a key part in the methods by which Amazon operates in the country in
an effective manner.

9MARKETING STRATEGY OF AMAZON AUSTRALIA
e. References
Abc.net.au 2018. Amazon unveils next phase of Australian push. [online] ABC News.
Available at: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-02-27/amazon-rolls-out-next-phase-of-
australian-launch/9489078 [Accessed 17 Sep. 2018].
Amazon.com.au 2018. Amazon.com.au: Shop online for Electronics, Apparel, Toys, Books,
DVDs & more. [online] Amazon.com.au. Available at: https://www.amazon.com.au/
[Accessed 17 Sep. 2018].
Coyne, A. and Coyne, A. 2018. Amazon launches online store in Australia. [online] iTnews.
Available at: https://www.itnews.com.au/news/amazon-launches-online-store-in-australia-
479134 [Accessed 17 Sep. 2018].
Daspit, J. J., Chrisman, J. J., Sharma, P., Pearson, A. W., and Long, R. G., 2017. A Strategic
Management Perspective of the Family Firm: Past Trends, New Insights, and Future
Directions. Journal of Managerial Issues, 29(1).
Frynas, J.G. and Mellahi, K., 2015. Global strategic management. Oxford University Press,
USA.
Hill, C. W., Jones, G. R., and Schilling, M. A., 2014. Strategic management: theory: an
integrated approach. Cengage Learning.
James, S.D., 2016. Strategic bankruptcy: A stakeholder management perspective. Journal of
Business Research, 69(2), pp.492-499.
Kasemsap, K., 2014. Strategic innovation management: An integrative framework and causal
model of knowledge management, strategic orientation, organizational innovation, and

10MARKETING STRATEGY OF AMAZON AUSTRALIA
organizational performance. In Strategic approaches for human capital management and
development in a turbulent economy (pp. 102-116). IGI Global.
Michael, S., Storey, D., and Thomas, H., 2017. Discovery and coordination in strategic
management and entrepreneurship. Strategic entrepreneurship: Creating a new mindset, 45-
65.
Morschett, D., Schramm-Klein, H. and Zentes, J., 2015. Strategic international
management (pp. 978-3658078836). Springer.
Sakas, D., Vlachos, D. and Nasiopoulos, D., 2014. Modelling strategic management for the
development of competitive advantage, based on technology. Journal of Systems and
Information Technology, 16(3), pp.187-209.
Simon, D., Fischbach, K. and Schoder, D., 2014. Enterprise architecture management and its
role in corporate strategic management. Information Systems and e-Business
Management, 12(1), pp.5-42.
Steinbach, A.L., Holcomb, T.R., Holmes, R.M., Devers, C.E. and Cannella, A.A., 2017. Top
management team incentive heterogeneity, strategic investment behavior, and performance:
A contingency theory of incentive alignment. Strategic Management Journal, 38(8), pp.1701-
1720.
Webalive.com.au 2018. Australia's Ecommerce in 2018: How Amazon Challenges the Retail
Industry. [online] WebAlive. Available at: https://www.webalive.com.au/ecommerce-
australia-2018/ [Accessed 17 Sep. 2018].

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g. Appendices
Appendix 1