Marketing Report: Amazon.com's 2018-2021 Marketing Plan for Australia

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Amazon.com's planned business expansion into the Australian market. It begins with an executive summary and introduction, followed by a company description and an assessment of the current situation facing Amazon Australia, including strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT analysis). The report delves into factors contributing to Amazon's success in the US and international markets, identifying intensified competition as a major challenge in Australia. It then outlines the design of a marketing strategy and plan, including situational analysis, market research, identification of marketing objectives and target markets, and budget considerations. The report proposes strategies such as cost leadership and product development, and presents a detailed marketing plan for Amazon Australia from 2018 to 2021, encompassing market positioning, target market identification, market segmentation, and the marketing mix. The report concludes with a summary of key findings and recommendations, supported by references.

Running Head: MARKETING 1
Marketing: Amazon.com 2016

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Executive Summary
Business expansion and growth, both are the major objectives for most of the entrepreneurs and
business owners. This is the business strategy, in which an organization obtains growth by
increasing its outlets and stores in different locations, so that customers can purchase the
products and services according to their ease. When an organization plans to expand its business
in emerging market, it needs to create several strategies before entering into new market. In this
report, one of the biggest online retailers, Amazon.com is expanding its business operations in
Australia. The report consists of different strategic aspects, which are related to this business
expansion in Australia. There are some challenges, which are faced Amazon Australia. The
company is confronting intense competition in this country as there are already several well-
established retailers in Australia. The company will establish a new marketing plan for 2018-
2021, which includes all the strategies and tactics that company will use in the future. Under this
expansion, Amazon Australia will adopt cost leadership and product development strategies to
stay competitive in the Australia.

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Table of Contents
Executive Summary.......................................................................................................................................2
Introduction....................................................................................................................................................5
Company description.....................................................................................................................................5
Current Situations Facing Amazon Australia................................................................................................6
Strengths....................................................................................................................................................6
Weaknesses................................................................................................................................................6
Opportunities..............................................................................................................................................7
Threats........................................................................................................................................................7
Factors Contributing the Amazon’s Success in US and International Markets.............................................7
Major Challenge faced by Amazon Australia................................................................................................9
Intensified competition..............................................................................................................................9
Competitive rivalry:...................................................................................................................................9
Threat of substitutes:................................................................................................................................10
Threat of new entrants:............................................................................................................................10
Designing of Marketing strategy and Marketing Plan.................................................................................10
Situational Analysis.................................................................................................................................10
Market Research......................................................................................................................................11
Identify Marketing Objectives.................................................................................................................11
Identify Target Market.............................................................................................................................11
Set Marketing Budget..............................................................................................................................12
Strategies......................................................................................................................................................12
Cost Leadership.......................................................................................................................................12
Product Development...............................................................................................................................13
Marketing Plan 2018-2021 for Amazon Australia.......................................................................................13
Market Positioning...................................................................................................................................13
Target Market...........................................................................................................................................14
Market Segmentation...............................................................................................................................14
Marketing Mix.........................................................................................................................................14
Conclusion...................................................................................................................................................16
References....................................................................................................................................................17

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Introduction
When an organization wishes to increase its presence globally, it plans to expand its business in
international markets. Business expansion in a developed market is the best way to enhance its
presence among more population and increase its customer base. There are so many companies
in today’s competitive business world, which are planning to extend their business operations in
international markets. Amazon.com is the best example for this, as it is aggressively expanding
its business operations by enhancing its online presence and by opening new pop-up stores in
shopping malls. Now, this organization is planning to expand its products and offerings in
Australia and going to launch its web-based services in the country.
Under this expansion, Amazon.com is confronting various issues and situations while entering in
Australia. This report includes the discussion about current issues and situations, which are faced
by Amazon Australia. It includes the factors, which contribute the success of Amazon in its
home country, i.e. United States and international markets. Amazon Australia is facing a major
challenge, i.e. competition in online retail industry. There are so many players in the industry,
which are posing competition for Amazon Australia. At the end, the report includes the
marketing plan and marketing strategies for Amazon Australia for 2018-2021.
Company description
Amazon.com is an American e-commerce organization, which has become an idol of online
retail business. The organization was founded in 1994 by Jeff Bozos and introduced it online in
the year 1995 as an e-book store. Amazon is one of the largest online retailers in the world that is
offering from online books to consumer electronics to potential customers from all over the
world. This online giant had started its business as an online bookstore and after that it has
diversified its business to offer different products, like; DVDs, video games, software,
electronics, food, furniture, toys, apparel, jewelry etc.
This website is well-known for its cheaper prices for their products and experiencing greater
expertise for ensuring that needs and expectations of customers are always met (Anderson, Narus
& Narayandas, 2009). By adopting effective strategies, this organization has established its
image as a largest online business in the terms of revenues all over the world and it is the 8 th
largest employer in United States. In the end of 2015, the organization has employed around

MARKETING 5
230,800 part time and full time employees. It has expanded its online and offline business
operations in different countries, like; Canada, Germany, United Kingdom, France, Japan etc. In
the early 2017, the company has planned to go in Australia.
Current Situations Facing Amazon Australia
In early 2017, an online retailer giant, Amazon.com has announced to enter in Australian market.
In order to expand its business in Australia, Amazon is confronting with different situations,
which are affecting the growth and success of company in Australia (Baker, 2014). For analyzing
the situations, SWOT analysis model is used here, which includes all the internal and external
factors that impacts organization positively and adversely. The situational analysis for Amazon
Australia is stated below;
Strengths
In Australia, Amazon is entering with lower prices, vast market selection and fast product
delivery. The organization has made its success with its online books, now the company will
focus on the electronics and kitchen appliances in Australia. To differentiate itself from its
existing competitors in the Australia, the organization is using a cost leadership strategy
(Charlesworth, 2014). It has developed many strategic alliances with other organizations in
Australia, so that it can offer excellent customer service. Amazon Australia has an efficient
delivery network and deep distribution network for delivering the products.
Weaknesses
Under this business expansion to Australia, Amazon may have some weaknesses, like; because
of its extensive distribution network, the margins of Amazon are dwindling that is resulting in
losses. In Australia, Amazon has enticed negative advertising on avoiding the taxes, which are to
be paid by an online retailer (David, David & David, 2016). The major issue, which organization
is facing in Australia is that distances in Australia are higher than most of the nations, where
Amazon.com operates in, and population of the country are lower than US. The existing business
model of Amazon is not working in Australia, so company may face various issues.

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Opportunities
This business expansion will offer several opportunities to the Amazon Australia, like; the
organization is coming up with new and in-house brands in variety of products and categories. It
can go ahead with product differentiation (David & David, 2015). It will assist the organization
in making profits and revenues in Australian e-commerce market. It can open its physical stores
in Australia that can assist the people to engage with the brand and resulting in enhanced repeat
purchases and increase in the customer loyalty.
Threats
One of the major threats for Amazon Australia is intense competition. There are so many leading
players in the Australian retail industry, which are posing immense competition towards Amazon
Australia. The major players are like; Harvey Norman, Bunnings, JB Hi-Fi and Myer. The
impact of these biggest retailers in Australia will be high. JB Hi-Fi has$3.9 billion in revenue,
Bunnings $11.5 billion and Harvey Norman with $1.8 billion. These three organizations are
operating their online and offline stores in the different states in Australia (Dibb & Simkin,
2013). Currently, the Australian market is dominated by Harvey Norman and JB Hi-Fi. Apart
from this, another major threat to Amazon is the enhancing concern for online shopping due to
hacking and theft of identity that leaves the data of customers exposed. Thus, Amazon Australia
has to go ahead quickly to alleviate the concerns of customers over its website and make sure
that it provides guaranteed security and privacy.
Factors Contributing the Amazon’s Success in US and International
Markets
The below presented are the success factors which can be proven relevant for the business entity
for analyzing the business environment in which the firm is executing the business operations.
The analysis has been executed for Amazon.com which has been planning for expanding the
business operations in Australian regions and the entity is mainly operating the business in USA
(Dudovskiy, 2017). The below is the description of the external environmental factors for the
firm:

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Political: This factor can highly impact the business environment and the variables which play
an integral part in influencing the business entity involves the political stability, law and order
situations norms and regulations associated with the business etc. These political factors are
considered as very much liable in influencing the entity and as mentioned in the scenario USA
has a strong democratic political environment with effectiveness in the norms imposed and the
elections are also fair and transparent (Evans, 2015). This aids the business entity on varied
range of grounds and has been proven as a success factor. Apart from this the entity has also
been expecting to expand the business operations to the new regions of Australia. The Australian
region has been considered as the one of the most politically stable region for the MNC’s in
Asia-Pacific and will also be proven advantageous for Amazon.Inc.
Economic: These variables are mostly linked to the economic conditions of the regions in which
the entity has been operating the business. USA has a GDP of over $16.760 trillion and has been
recognized as the biggest economy in the world. The economy is also one of the most developed
and due to which the entity will be aided on number of grounds. The firm will be aided by the
modernization and the skilled workforce which is already prevailing in the economy (Gmelin
and Seuring, 2014). Moreover, in the case of Australia, the economy have strong growth rates, a
high GDP and low degree of risk which will enable Amazon with number of benefits and the
expansion will be proven successful.
Technology: Innovations and technology has been considered as the two cornerstones of the US
economy. The economy has been ranked on the top in adopting the technological up-gradations
and applying the same. This will be proven very much beneficial for Amazon as technology is
one of the success factors and the same is in the case of Amazon. Additionally, the US economy
has also been at the vanguard in developing mechanization in the sectors such as
nanotechnology, environmental technology and biotechnology (Harris, 2010). This will open-up
massive opportunities for Amazon. Whereas, Australia the Commonwealth Scientific and
Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), have its headquarters in the region of Melbourne and
was founded in 1926, which is an independent public owned agency. This organization supports
research and development in all the sectors of the physical and biological sciences and is also a
great hub for e-business. These all will contribute in the success of the Amazon in Australian
regions (Hollensen, 2015).

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Major Challenge faced by Amazon Australia
The below presented is the major challenge which will be faced by Amazon while expanding the
business operations in the Australian markets:
Intensified competition
Competition has been considered as one of the biggest challenge which can be faced by any of
the business corporation and also plays a significant role in stimulating the entity and the
operations and functionality. On the basis of the conducted research it has been analyzed that
Myer, Harvey Norman and JB Hi-Fi will be considered as the top rivals for Amazon.Inc while
executing or expanding the business operations in Australian regions. These rivals play an
integral role in stimulating the demand of the business entity. The se mentioned entities are
operating business through both online and offline means. The Australian regions have some
other online retailers who are ruling the e-business sector such as Temple & Webster and Kogan.
These business entities play a critical role in influencing the business environment of Amazon
(Kipley & Jewe, 2014). The below presented are some of the driving forces to this challenge for
the business entity while operating the business in Australian markets:
Competitive rivalry: The multinational corporation has been facing an intense level
of competition from number of strong competitors such as Myer, Harvey Norman and JB Hi-Fi
and from online retailers such as Temple & Webster and Kogan. The further explained are the
external factors which are considered as liable for the intensity of the competitiveness in the
business environment of online retail industry:
 High aggressiveness of firms
 Variance in the availability of the substitutes
 Minimum switching expenses
Retail firms are generally considered as aggressive by nature and hence they have to exert strong
competitive forces against each other (Kotler, 2011). For instance, Amazon has been competing
against Wall-mart which has been considered as one of the empirical and expanding name in the
sector of e-commerce. Moreover, the business entity has also been facing a risk or threat of
substitutes.

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Threat of substitutes: On the basis of the conducted research it has been analyzed
that this is one of the strongest force which has been considered as liable or a strong competing
force. This force will negatively impact the business operations in Australia (Luo, 2008). The
below mentioned are the external factors and also supports the strong intensity of the threat from
the substitutes:
 Variance in the availability of the substitutes
 Minimum switching expenses
 Minimum expenses of substitutes
As there are number of substitutes available in the market there are more chances and options to
choose from and also easy for the consumers to switch over the brands. Low cost of the products
of the substitutes and high availability of the same influence the consumers. For instance, the
consumers can directly and easily from Temple & Webster online stores.
Threat of new entrants: The new entrants are the pioneers which can also be
considered as threat or can rise as a challenge for Amazon. Mostly the new entrants launch their
products at low price with some additional benefits for entering the market and establish their
name (Merchant, 2014). And this will tend the consumers to switch over the brands.
Designing of Marketing strategy and Marketing Plan
Effective designing of marketing plan and marketing strategy is very important for an
organization. When an organization plans to expand its business operations in international
country, it needs to develop new and effective marketing strategies and marketing plan for
reaching to target market (Murphy, 2017). These marketing strategies assist the organization in
attracting new customers towards company’s products and services. An organization follows
various steps to develop its marketing plan and strategies. In designing the marketing strategies
and plan, Amazon Australia Director will go through different processes, which are stated below;
Situational Analysis
Situational analysis is a tool that is used to analyze the external and internal environment of an
organization. Under this step, the director at Amazon will identify the strengths, weaknesses and

MARKETING 10
opportunities and threats of company in the developed market of Australia. When it will expand
its business to Australia, it will analyze the current situations, faced by organization. By this, it
can find out that on what area, the organization should emphasize more (McDonalds, 2007).
Amazon will consider its weaknesses and threats and develop effective strategies, so that it can
overcome these threats and weaknesses.
Market Research
Furthermore, the marketing team of Amazon will conduct a market research, which will assist
the organization in understanding the current market trends in e-commerce retail industry.
Through this marketing research, the team can find out the needs, expectations and preferences
of customers. By understanding their needs and demands, company can develop its products and
services and make the marketing strategies accordingly. This marketing research process will
help the company in analyzing the competition in the industry and major competitors in
Australian retail industry. This marketing research will provide relevant data and information to
overcome the marketing challenges, which Amazon.com will face in business planning process.
Through this, Amazon will be able to gather the related information (Payne, Kennedy & Davis,
2009).
Identify Marketing Objectives
Marketing objectives are the objectives, which are set by an organization when advertising its
products and services to the customers which should be attained in the predetermined time.
Amazon.com will establish its marketing objectives for promoting its products and services in
Australia. These marketing objectives will be attained by developing effective marketing
strategies and tactics.
Identify Target Market
Target market is the group of customers, who share the similar likes and dislikes and
characteristics. A company identifies a target market by considering different characteristics,
like; behavioral, psychographic, demographic and geographic characteristics. Under this step,

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Amazon will select a target segment, to which it will offer its products and services in Australia
(Peppard and Ward, 2016).
Set Marketing Budget
After identifying marketing objectives and target market, the organization will establish a
marketing budget, which will consist of different costs, like; advertising costs, social media
networking costs, offline media related costs etc. This budget will include all the media, like;
online, traditional and print media, which will assist Amazon in increasing its presence among
Australian population and Australian retail industry. This marketing budget will aid the
Amazon.com in defining all the costs and investing in all the activities and processes of
marketing and promotional practices of company.
Thus, by following all these steps, Amazon.com will be able to design its marketing strategies
and marketing plan.
Strategies
The population in Australia is much lower than United States, so Amazon.com may face various
issues in promoting and establishing its business operations in Australia. Some of the issues and
challenges are mentioned in the above section of this report (O'Guinn, Allen & Semenik, 2011).
To handle these issues and promoting its business in Australia, the company will establish some
effective strategies. These strategies of Amazon Australia are given below;
Cost Leadership
Amazon Australia can use cost leadership strategy as its generic strategy for gaining more
competitive advantage over its competitors. The company is using enhanced networking
technologies for maximize its efficiency that minimize the costs for company. The major
objective behind using this strategy is to create e-commerce competitive advantage by improving
its infrastructure. Furthermore, this strategy pushes Amazon Australia to lower its prices, which
will assist the organization in attracting more customer base. Lower prices of products and
services are significant for retaining existing customers and attracting new customers towards its
offerings (Ritala, Golnam and Wegmann, 2014). Thus, by using cost leadership strategy,

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Amazon Australia can gain competitive advantage to aid its mission and vision statement, with
regards to international growth and leadership.
Apart from these pros, the company will have some cons of cost leadership strategy in the future.
It will lower the growth of profits and revenues of organization as the prices of product offerings
are lower in comparison to its competitors. It will impact the growth of company in develop
market, as there will be slow growth in the revenues.
Product Development
Product development is another strategy that is adopted and implemented by Amazon.com in
Australia. The company is using this marketing strategy to support its business growth. When the
company will expand its business in Australia, it will develop and offer new products and
services to attain higher revenues, which is the major objective of this company. For example,
along with its existing products and services, it will offer Amazon Web Services and Amazon
Basic products. The cost leadership strategy of organization aids its product development
strategy.
The major cons of this strategy are that company needs to make investment on market research
and development process that is very expensive for the company. The company needs to hire an
expert team for this marketing research. It will increase the costs of company. New product
development carries some risks and challenges with it as it is not necessary that customers will
like or accept new products and services offered by firm (Ryan, 2016).
Marketing Plan 2018-2021 for Amazon Australia
In order to implement marketing strategies and tactics, Amazon Australia will develop a
marketing plan for the duration of 2018-2021. It will include all the important and related aspects
of marketing and promotional process. The marketing plan for Amazon Australia for 2018-2021
is stated below;
Market Positioning

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In the duration of 2018-2021, the Amazon Australia will use two types of positioning, which
include multi-segment positioning and adaptive positioning. Under multi-segment positioning, it
will offer a variety of products and services in Australia. It will serve the needs of wide customer
segment in the country. In addition to this, the organization will focus on the changes in external
environment and consider the needs and expectations of customers (Solomon, 2014).
Target Market
Under this business expansion, Amazon Australia will aim at the wide audiences, who are
interested in online shopping. The variety of products for sale that company offers will
recommend that they desire to targeted customers of all age groups from young one to old
people. The Amazon will design the website that will ensure that it is very easy to use for the
people, who are computer illiterate. The people with medium and lower income level will be
attracted towards its products and services as it offers the products at comparatively lower prices.
Market Segmentation
By expanding its business in Australia, Amazon will segment the market by consider their
characteristics, like; geographic, demographic, behavioral and psychographic characteristics.
Under demographic characteristics, Amazon will focus on the life-cycle stage of the people.
Under geographic segmentation, Amazon Australia will consider different factors, like; age,
gender, region and density (Wells, Danskin & Ellsworth, 2016). It will target both males and
females and the people from all age groups. As Amazon.com is providing a wide range of
products and services online, so it impact the behavioral characteristics of people. Under this
segmentation, it will choose the people, who love to shop online on competitive prices. The
offerings at Amazon Australia can be purchased by the people of all income levels, i.e. lower
level, middle level and higher income level. Through this market segmentation, the company can
determine its target market and audiences in Australian market.
Marketing Mix
Product

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Amazon Australia is a global online retailer that uses connections on internet by using different
devices. It allows an organization to surf and purchase the products from its website (Wood,
2014). In Australia, the company will offer different products, like;
 Amazon Kindle
 DVDs
 Online books
 Mobile phones
 Home appliances
 Consumer electronic
 Apparel
 Jewellery etc.
Price
For next three years (2018-2021), Amazon Australia will offer its products and services at
competitive prices. The company will set the prices as low as possible to capture a market
segment in the developed marketplace in Australia. It will make an effective pricing strategy,
which will assist the organization in attracting more customers.
Place
At Amazon Australia, the distribution network will be very wide. In Australia, it is planning to
establish its distribution centers in different cities of Australia. It will assist the company in
delivering the products easily and on predetermined time. As Amazon Australia is engaged in
online business, so that the products will be available on its website. In future, it will be opening
its physical stores in the country.
Promotion
For promoting its products, Amazon will use different mode of advertising, like; television
commercials, print media, online media, advertising networks etc. Amazon will adopt a smart
promotional and advertising strategy in next three years (Wood, 2014). It will set a budget for
this marketing plan and promotion, which will includes all the related and incurred costs.

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Conclusion
From the above analysis and given case study, it can be concluded that Amazon.com can expand
its business operations in Australian retail industry. In this expansion, the company may confront
some issues and challenge, which can be resolved by using some effective strategies. The report
includes some success factors, which are contributing to the growth and success of Amazon in
US and international markets. In next three years, Amazon Australia will develop effective
strategies and attract more and more customers. It will assist the organization in establishing its
business operations in this developed market, i.e. Australia.

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