Optimize Prime: Amazon’s Transformation is More than Meets the Eye
Will a Lackluster 10th Annual Prime Day Signal the Beginning of Day 2… or is it Always Day 1 at Amazon?
Prime Day—Amazon’s annual mid-summer event—is once again upon us, and more than any time I can remember it seems like the company is simply going through the motions. There is almost nothing novel, remarkable or differentiating about this year’s lead-up to the event.
Is this a warning sign that Day 2 is looming? In Amazon’s 2016 shareholder letter, Jeff Bezos offers his definition: “Day 2 is stasis. Followed by irrelevance. Followed by excruciating, painful decline. Followed by death. And that is why it is always Day 1.”
Another interpretation is that Prime Day’s relative uneventfulness is merely a sign of the company’s maturity and confidence in the long-term horizon. With ~40% of the US ecommerce market, Amazon can continue to do what it does well without necessarily needing to flex. Now in its 10th annual cycle, it’s fair to say the novelty has worn off.
But as a microcosm of Amazon’s business, Prime Day nevertheless harbors significance for the future of the company—a moment to zoom out and take stock of what the post-2024 future holds. Though it may not be obvious on the surface, I believe that Amazon is quietly assembling the pieces to build an even more powerful machine.
In carefully calibrating several big bets on media, advertising, and commerce, Amazon is charting its course to the future. The strategy is on the mark, but it will need execution—and also a bit of luck—to get there.