Amazon.com versus WikiLeaks
By shutting down the WikiLeaks website Amazon.com has become the target of a consumer boycott. On various Internet platforms and blogs, supporters of the whistle-blowing website call on consumers to boycott the online retailer. But despite the boycott calls, the Amazon.com shares have not lost value in the stock market but rather the contrary. Credit Suisse analysts give the advice: buy shares in Amazon.com.
Why? Well, the stock market obviously thinks that Kindle is an awesome Christmas gift. Then, there is a new search function on Amazon that helps you to find the perfect shoe. And there is another argument saying that the boycott could not reach a critical mass. The key reason why the outburst is kept within a limit might also be closely related to the consumer centered service developed by online retailers over the last years. A 2010 consumer research study by Millward Brown revealed that Amazon.com is the top-performing brand in the U.S. based on “trust” and “recommendation”. The existing brand loyalty within the consumer community might be a significant reason why most consumers continue to buy their Christmas presents at the online platform.
But why do so many customers trust and recommend Amazon.com? Brand cynics argue it’s all about price. And to a certain extent that is true. Books for example, are undoubtedly the cheapest on Amazon. But price is not the only parameter when it comes down to brand loyalty. In the seventies, Tesco managed to run down its brand to such an extent that Imperial Tobacco decided to stop selling its products for fear of being associated with the unpopular image of the company.
And what now? Is there any witty conclusion? What have we learned from the case Amzon.com vs. WikiLeaks?
First of all there is rarely a difference between the political and economic dimension these days. Both spheres increasingly intermingle with each other. Secondly where and what we buy can be an expression of our political point of view. Instead of going to the ballot box consumers, at least, have the ability to express their political opinion by buying certain brands and boycotting others. And finally, modern brands have no other chance but to invest in the creation of their customer’s brand loyalty in order to survive in a globalized, and maybe more important, transparent world.
Why? Well, the stock market obviously thinks that Kindle is an awesome Christmas gift. Then, there is a new search function on Amazon that helps you to find the perfect shoe. And there is another argument saying that the boycott could not reach a critical mass. The key reason why the outburst is kept within a limit might also be closely related to the consumer centered service developed by online retailers over the last years. A 2010 consumer research study by Millward Brown revealed that Amazon.com is the top-performing brand in the U.S. based on “trust” and “recommendation”. The existing brand loyalty within the consumer community might be a significant reason why most consumers continue to buy their Christmas presents at the online platform.
But why do so many customers trust and recommend Amazon.com? Brand cynics argue it’s all about price. And to a certain extent that is true. Books for example, are undoubtedly the cheapest on Amazon. But price is not the only parameter when it comes down to brand loyalty. In the seventies, Tesco managed to run down its brand to such an extent that Imperial Tobacco decided to stop selling its products for fear of being associated with the unpopular image of the company.
And what now? Is there any witty conclusion? What have we learned from the case Amzon.com vs. WikiLeaks?
First of all there is rarely a difference between the political and economic dimension these days. Both spheres increasingly intermingle with each other. Secondly where and what we buy can be an expression of our political point of view. Instead of going to the ballot box consumers, at least, have the ability to express their political opinion by buying certain brands and boycotting others. And finally, modern brands have no other chance but to invest in the creation of their customer’s brand loyalty in order to survive in a globalized, and maybe more important, transparent world.
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