It was late on a dreary winter day in Seattle in early January 2017. As Jeff Bezos studied the report for final quarter in 2016, he hoped investors would be pleased with the results. Amazon’s share price was up 43%43 \% compared to the same time last year, and market cap had grown almost 12%12 \% from $318\$ 318 billion to $356\$ 356 billion over the same time. ^(1){ }^{1} Exhibit 1 depicts Amazon’s revenue, net income, and operating expenses from 1996 to 2016. 2017 年 1 月初，西雅图一个沉闷的冬日，那是深夜。Jeff Bezos 在 2016 年最后一个季度研究了该报告时，他希望投资者会对结果感到满意。与去年同期相比，亚马逊的股价上涨 43%43 \% ，同期市值几乎 12%12 \% 从 $318\$ 318 10 亿增长到 $356\$ 356 10 亿。 ^(1){ }^{1} 图表 1 描述了亚马逊从 1996 年到 2016 年的收入、净收入和运营费用。
As Amazon evolved with technology, traditional boundaries between hardware and software, products and services, and online and bricks- and-mortar stores had become increasingly blurred. As a result, Amazon found itself engaged in a fierce competitive battle for control of the emerging digital ecosystem, pitted itself against technology giants such as Alphabet (Google’s parent company), Alibaba, and even Microsoft and Apple. 随着 Amazon 与技术的发展，硬件和软件、产品和服务以及在线和实体店之间的传统界限变得越来越模糊。结果，亚马逊发现自己卷入了一场激烈的竞争之战，争夺对新兴数字生态系统的控制权，与 Alphabet（谷歌的母公司）、阿里巴巴，甚至 Microsoft 和 Apple 等科技巨头展开竞争。
Throughout this digital transformation, Amazon’s investors remained focused on the long-term, because consistent profitability continued to elude the company. Sales, however, increased quarter after quarter, fueling optimism in what the long-term projects the company invested in could mean for future profitability and growth. Investors are by now quite familiar with the three pillars of Amazon that Bezos likes to talk about: the e-commerce marketplace, the Prime membership program, and Amazon Web Services (AWS). But will this be enough going forward? While Amazon was starting to post some profits, its stock was down 7%7 \% after the last quarterly results were posted in 2016. ^(2){ }^{2} 在整个数字化转型过程中，Amazon 的投资者仍然专注于长期，因为该公司仍然无法实现持续的盈利能力。然而，销售额逐季增长，这激发了人们对公司投资的长期项目对未来盈利能力和增长可能意味着什么的乐观情绪。投资者现在已经非常熟悉 Bezos 喜欢谈论的 Amazon 的三大支柱：电子商务市场、Prime 会员计划和 Amazon Web Services （AWS）。但这就足够了吗？虽然亚马逊开始公布一些利润，但在 2016 年发布最后一个季度业绩后，其股价下跌 7%7 \% 。 ^(2){ }^{2}
As Bezos gazed out of the office window into the darkness, he could not help but ask himself that very question: What should be the fourth pillar of Amazon? After all, Amazon had launched a smartphone, a set-top box for video streaming, a music streaming service, in-house video programming, and expanded same-day delivery services. Bezos immediately thought of the AWS unit that had been the one shining star, generating substantial margins and showing clear potential for continued stellar growth. But even for AWS, trouble seemed imminent: Talk among investors about a pending AWS spinout loomed, and Bezos anticipated heightening pressure for a breakup. Could he confidently rely on AWS to drive the profitability until he found the next growth engine? How could he and his lieutenants mitigate any pressure to spin-out AWS? Or, should he divest AWS, and create a stand-alone unit? 当贝佐斯凝视着办公室窗外的黑暗时，他忍不住问自己一个问题：亚马逊的第四大支柱应该是什么？毕竟，亚马逊已经推出了智能手机、视频流机顶盒、音乐流媒体服务、内部视频节目以及扩展的当日送达服务。Bezos 立即想到了 AWS 部门，它一直是一颗闪亮的明星，产生了可观的利润，并显示出持续强劲增长的明显潜力。但即使对 AWS 来说，麻烦似乎也迫在眉睫：投资者之间关于即将分拆的 AWS 的讨论迫在眉睫，贝佐斯预计分拆的压力会越来越大。他能否自信地依靠 AWS 来提高盈利能力，直到找到下一个增长引擎？他和他的副手如何减轻分拆 AWS 的压力？或者，他应该剥离 AWS 并创建一个独立的部门？
And what about the company’s growing competition with the likes of Microsoft, Alphabet, and Alibaba? What would Amazon need to do for its international business, mainly in India and China? For Bezos, the technology and industry convergence he had experienced in the last few years was 该公司与 Microsoft、Alphabet 和阿里巴巴等公司日益激烈的竞争又如何？亚马逊需要为其国际业务（主要是印度和中国）做些什么？对 Bezos 来说，他在过去几年中经历的技术和行业融合是
unprecedented. How would such a dynamic affect profits and shape the company’s investment fortunes? And then, of course, there was the potential threat that Alibaba, and now even Walmart, posed to Amazon’s bread-and-butter online retailing. Struggling to make sense of it all, Bezos got up to grab a much-needed can of Monster Energy Lo-Carb drink out of his office fridge. He opened the can, took a sip, sat back down, took out a legal pad, and began to jot down some talking points for the upcoming investor call. 史无前例。这种动态将如何影响利润并塑造公司的投资命运？当然，还有阿里巴巴，甚至现在的沃尔玛，对亚马逊的基本在线零售构成的潜在威胁。贝佐斯努力弄清楚这一切，起身从他办公室的冰箱里拿出一罐急需的 Monster Energy Lo-Carb 饮料。他打开罐子，喝了一口，坐回去，拿出一个法律笔记本，开始记下即将到来的投资者电话会议的一些谈话要点。
A Brief History of Amazon Amazon 简史
Jeff Bezos started out as a computer specialist at D. E. Shaw, a hedge fund company in New York. In the early 1990s, he noticed the rapid growth of the internet and was drawn to its potential for a new era of retail services. Still, he needed a product that would lend itself easily to online sales in order to break ground in this new arena. After brainstorming many possible ideas, Bezos settled on books, which are easily sourced and warehoused. Books are also an ideal commodity because they are identical products regardless of where they are purchased (in a brick-and-mortar bookstore or online). This in turn reduced customer uncertainty about transacting online, which was new at the time. Also, an Internet store can carry a significantly larger inventory of books than typical bricks-and-mortar establishments. Placing all bets on his new business plan, Bezos moved from New York City to Seattle, Washington. When Jeff Bezos started Amazon.com out of a garage in a Seattle suburb in 1994 to sell books online, he furnished his makeshift office with discarded wood doors for desks. In less than 25 years, Amazon morphed from a fledgling start-up into one of the world’s most valuable companies, active in far-flung businesses from e-commerce and cloud computing to media entertainment. As of December 31, 2016, Amazon employed more than 341,000 employees. Yet, wood doors turning into desks remain a staple at Amazon, where strict cost control is paramount to this day. Exhibit 2 shows Amazon’s key events and market capitalization over time. Jeff Bezos 最初是纽约对冲基金公司 D. E. Shaw 的计算机专家。在 1990 年代初期，他注意到互联网的快速增长，并被它在零售服务新时代的潜力所吸引。尽管如此，他仍然需要一种易于在线销售的产品，以便在这个新领域取得突破。在集思广益了许多可能的想法后，贝索斯选择了很容易采购和储存的书籍。书籍也是一种理想的商品，因为无论在哪里购买（在实体书店或网上），它们都是相同的产品。这反过来又减少了客户对在线交易的不确定性，这在当时是新的。此外，互联网商店可以比典型的实体店多得多的书籍库存。贝佐斯把所有赌注都押在他的新商业计划上，从纽约市搬到了华盛顿州的西雅图。1994 年，当 Jeff Bezos 开始从西雅图郊区的一个车库 Amazon.com 出来在线销售书籍时，他用废弃的木门装饰了他的临时办公室作为办公桌。在不到 25 年的时间里，Amazon 从一家初出茅庐的初创公司发展成为世界上最有价值的公司之一，活跃于从电子商务和云计算到媒体娱乐的广泛业务中。截至 2016 年 12 月 31 日，Amazon 拥有超过 341,000 名员工。然而，木门变成办公桌仍然是亚马逊的主打产品，严格的成本控制直到今天仍然至关重要。图表 2 显示了亚马逊在一段时间内的主要事件和市值。
Amazon’s First Decade, 1995-2005. Amazon’s website officially went live in July 1995. ^(3){ }^{3} It was an instant success with book lovers everywhere. The online startup set itself apart from other Internet merchants by pioneering one-click shopping, customer reviews, and order verification via e-mail. Early on, customer service representatives wrote personalized emails to each customer after orders were placed. ^(4){ }^{4} These innovations made it easy and convenient for online shoppers to adopt Amazon’s services and continue to use them. By September 1995, the company was already generating $20,000\$ 20,000 in sales per week. As a result, the startup rapidly outgrew its 400 -square-foot office (which was actually a garage) in Bellevue, Washington. Over the next few years, Amazon moved to new warehouses several times to accommodate its growing volume of business. 亚马逊的第一个十年，1995-2005 年。亚马逊的网站于 1995 年 7 月正式上线。 ^(3){ }^{3} 它在各地的书籍爱好者中立即取得了成功。这家在线初创公司通过开创一键购物、客户评论和通过电子邮件进行订单验证，将自己与其他互联网商家区分开来。早期，客户服务代表在下订单后向每位客户编写个性化电子邮件。 ^(4){ }^{4} 这些创新使在线顾客能够轻松方便地采用亚马逊的服务并继续使用它们。到 1995 年 9 月，该公司的每周销售额已经 $20,000\$ 20,000 达到。结果，这家初创公司很快就超出了其位于华盛顿州贝尔维尤的 400 平方英尺办公室（实际上是一个车库）的规模。在接下来的几年里，亚马逊多次搬迁到新仓库，以适应其不断增长的业务量。
With revenue of $15.6\$ 15.6 million by 1997, Amazon’s book sales far exceeded those of even its largest bricks-and-mortar bookstores. Riding high on consistent growth each quarter, Amazon completed a successful initial public offering (IPO) on May 16, 1997. By 1998, Amazon had become the sole book retailer on AOL’s and Netscape’s commercial channels. Later that same year, Amazon hit a momentous benchmark when its market capitalization exceeded that of both Barnes & Noble and Borders, its two largest bricks-and-mortar competitors. ^(5){ }^{5} 到 1997 年，亚马逊的收入达到 $15.6\$ 15.6 了数百万，其图书销量甚至远远超过了其最大的实体书店。凭借每个季度的持续增长，Amazon 于 1997 年 5 月 16 日成功完成了首次公开募股 （IPO）。到 1998 年，亚马逊已成为 AOL 和 Netscape 商业渠道上的唯一图书零售商。同年晚些时候，亚马逊的市值超过了Barnes & Noble和Borders这两家最大的实体竞争对手，达到了一个重要的基准。 ^(5){ }^{5}
Exhibit 3 depicts Amazon stock performance relative to the NASDAQ-100 Index since its initial listing. Over the last decade, Amazon’s stock appreciated by close to 2,000 percentage points, while the NASDAQ-100 Index appreciated 200 percentage points. 图 3 描述了亚马逊股票自首次上市以来相对于纳斯达克 100 指数的表现。在过去十年中，亚马逊的股票上涨了近 2,000 个百分点，而纳斯达克 100 指数上涨了 200 个百分点。
Amazon executed a series of strategic alliances as well as acquisitions to rapidly expand its product and service offerings. For example, Amazon bought junglee.com, an aggregation and comparisonshopping service provider, and incorporated its technology directly into Amazon’s own website. ^(6){ }^{6} The service tracked users as they browsed products on Amazon.com or affiliated websites, and displayed related or complementary products that might interest each user based on the information collected. The resulting user experience resembled a process of “spontaneous discovery,” as though each individual customer was walking the aisles of a traditional store. Based on the browsing history, the online store was individualized to the user’s preferences and choices. Similarly, Amazon entered online video sales through the purchase of IMDb (Internet Movie Database) and expanded into Europe with the acquisition of online booksellers BookPage and Telebook. ^(7){ }^{7} Amazon 执行了一系列战略联盟和收购，以快速扩展其产品和服务产品。例如，亚马逊收购了聚合和比较购物服务提供商 junglee.com，并将其技术直接整合到亚马逊自己的网站中。 ^(6){ }^{6} 该服务跟踪用户在 Amazon.com 或附属网站上浏览产品的情况，并根据收集到的信息显示每个用户可能感兴趣的相关或互补产品。由此产生的用户体验类似于一个 “自发发现” 的过程，就好像每个顾客都走在传统商店的过道上。根据浏览历史，在线商店根据用户的偏好和选择进行个性化设置。同样，亚马逊通过收购 IMDb（互联网电影数据库）进入在线视频销售领域，并通过收购在线书商 BookPage 和 Telebook 扩展到欧洲。 ^(7){ }^{7}
In 1999 , Amazon partnered with Sotheby’s, a fine arts auction house, to offer online auctions. ^(8){ }^{8} Later, it added several more dot-coms to its portfolio using $1.25\$ 1.25 billion raised through a bond offering. Among the companies acquired were HomeGrocer.com, Pets.com, and Living.com, as well as catalog businesses Back to Basics and Tool Crib of the North. In addition, Toys"R"Us and Amazon brokered a deal to form a co-branded toy and video game store. Although the contract was intended to last ten years, the deal came to an early end when Toys"R"Us accused Amazon of violating the contract by selling toys from other vendors. Amazon spent $51\$ 51 million to settle the litigation. 1999 年，亚马逊与艺术品拍卖行苏富比合作，提供在线拍卖。 ^(8){ }^{8} 后来，它利用 $1.25\$ 1.25 通过债券发行筹集的 10 亿美元，在其投资组合中增加了几家互联网公司。收购的公司包括 HomeGrocer.com、Pets.com 和 Living.com，以及目录业务 Back to Basics 和 Tool Crib of the North。此外，玩具反斗城和亚马逊促成了一项协议，成立了一家联合品牌玩具和视频游戏商店。尽管该合同原定为期十年，但当玩具反斗城指责亚马逊销售其他供应商的玩具违反合同时，该交易提前结束。亚马逊花费了 $51\$ 51 数百万美元来解决诉讼。
Internationally, Amazon added warehouses as well as country-specific sites in 1998 in the United Kingdom (amazon.co.uk) and Germany (amazon.de) to accommodate its growing popularity in Europe. In addition, for $75\$ 75 million, Amazon purchased Joyo.com, China’s largest online book, music, and video retailer as a way to gain footing in the world’s largest internet market. ^(9){ }^{9} French (amazon.fr) and Japanese (amazon.co.jp) Amazon sites debuted in 2000. After the internet bubble of the late 1990s burst, Amazon went through a large restructuring effort in 2001, resulting in a $150\$ 150 million charge and a 15%15 \% reduction in its work force. 在国际上，亚马逊于 1998 年在英国 （amazon.co.uk） 和德国 （amazon.de） 增加了仓库以及特定国家/地区的站点，以适应其在欧洲日益增长的受欢迎程度。此外，亚马逊以数百万美元 $75\$ 75 的价格收购了中国最大的在线图书、音乐和视频零售商 Joyo.com，以此在全球最大的互联网市场站稳脚跟。 ^(9){ }^{9} 法国 （amazon.fr） 和日本 （amazon.co.jp） 亚马逊网站于 2000 年首次亮相。在 1990 年代后期的互联网泡沫破灭后，亚马逊在 2001 年进行了一次大规模的重组工作，导致 100 $150\$ 150 万笔费用和 15%15 \% 员工人数减少。
This proved to be only a temporary setback, as the company quickly entered a new phase of product and service proliferation. In that same year, Amazon was contracted by Borders to provide inventory, fulfillment, content, and customer services. It also became an accredited internet domain name registrar through the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), a privilege that only 160 entities could claim. The company expanded its presence in consumer product segments by partnering with hundreds of clothing retailers in 2002 to initiate a clothing sales department. 事实证明，这只是暂时的挫折，因为公司很快就进入了产品和服务激增的新阶段。同年，亚马逊与 Borders 签订合同，提供库存、配送、内容和客户服务。它还通过互联网名称与数字地址分配机构 （ICANN） 成为认可的互联网域名注册商，只有 160 个实体可以申请这一特权。该公司于 2002 年与数百家服装零售商合作成立了服装销售部门，从而扩大了其在消费品领域的影响力。
Amazon launched its “search inside the book” feature in 2003, permitting customers to search the contents of more than 120,000 books prior to purchase. Shortly thereafter, Amazon launched another site called askville.com. It was designed to connect users by allowing them to ask each other questions about anything. 亚马逊于 2003 年推出了“在书内搜索”功能，允许客户在购买前搜索超过 120,000 本书的内容。此后不久，亚马逊推出了另一个名为 askville.com 的网站。它旨在通过允许用户相互询问有关任何事情的问题来连接用户。
Amazon launched its premium subscriber service, Amazon Prime, in 2005. Subscribers paid $79\$ 79 (now $99) a year and received free two-day shipping on Prime products from Amazon.com, as well as access to Amazon’s Instant Video service. In an attempt to boost Prime membership, Amazon acquired rights to exclusive content from Discovery Communications and other content providers, providing Prime customers with access to unlimited instant streaming of more than 18,000 movies and some 2,000 TV titles. ^(10,11){ }^{10,11} 亚马逊于 2005 年推出了其高级订阅者服务 Amazon Prime。订阅者每年支付 $79\$ 79 （现在为 99 美元），并从 Amazon.com 获得 Prime 产品的两天免费送货服务，以及使用亚马逊的即时视频服务。为了提高 Prime 会员数量，亚马逊从 Discovery Communications 和其他内容提供商那里获得了独家内容的权利，使 Prime 客户能够无限制地即时流式传输 18,000 多部电影和大约 2,000 部电视节目。 ^(10,11){ }^{10,11}
Amazon’s Second Decade, 2006-2016. Amazon Web Services (AWS) is Amazon’s full-feature, cloud-based service that includes computing and storage capacity, content delivery, data management, 亚马逊的第二个十年，2006-2016 年。Amazon Web Services （AWS） 是 Amazon 的功能齐全的基于云的服务，包括计算和存储容量、内容分发、数据管理、
software, networking, payment and billing systems, and other applications. ^(12){ }^{12} Launched in 2006, the unit came about as Amazon struggled in the early 2000s with slow software development processes. To accelerate this, the company built a set of in-house infrastructure services that would allow its retail business to move more quickly. Amazon, however, only needed its full capacity for about six weeks of the year, during each holiday season. Amazon quickly realized that such on-demand web services and computing power would be valuable and useful for other companies and formed a business around the infrastructure. Subsequently, entities ranging from tech startups to government agencies (such as the CIA) have rented server space, storage, and computing capability from AWS. For a time being, even the infamous WikiLeaks was hosted on AWS, until Amazon ended the relationship in 2010. Given its early lead, by 2016, AWS had the largest market share in this space with 31%31 \%, before Microsoft’s Azure ( 9%9 \% ), IBM’s Cloud (7%), Google and Salesforce (each 4%), with the remaining market share held by other providers. In 2016, AWS revenues were $12\$ 12 billion, but bringing in $1\$ 1 billion in profits (Exhibit 4). 软件、网络、支付和计费系统以及其他应用程序。 ^(12){ }^{12} 该部门于 2006 年推出，是在 Amazon 在 2000 年代初期因软件开发流程缓慢而苦苦挣扎时出现的。为了加速这一发展，该公司构建了一套内部基础设施服务，使其零售业务能够更快地发展。然而，Amazon 在每个假期期间，一年中大约六周的时间只需要满负荷运行。Amazon 很快意识到这种按需 Web 服务和计算能力对其他公司有价值和有用，并围绕基础设施建立了业务。随后，从科技初创公司到政府机构（如 CIA）的实体都从 AWS 租用了服务器空间、存储和计算功能。有一段时间，即使是臭名昭著的 WikiLeaks 也托管在 AWS 上，直到 Amazon 于 2010 年结束了这种关系。鉴于其早期的领先优势，到 2016 年，AWS 在这一领域拥有最大的市场份额， 31%31 \% 在 Microsoft 的 Azure （ 9%9 \% ）、IBM 的 Cloud （7%）、Google 和 Salesforce （各 4%） 之前，其余的市场份额由其他提供商占据。2016 年，AWS 的收入为 $12\$ 12 10 亿美元，但带来了 $1\$ 1 数十亿美元的利润（图 4）。
On a local level, in 2006 Amazon started a dry grocery service in Seattle, expanding it in 2007 to include perishables. Amazon also continued its growth in the entertainment industry. In 2007, the company launched an MP3 site that sold audio files to users without copyright restrictions. It also acquired Brilliance audio, an audiobook publisher, and launched a video-on-demand service that allowed users to stream or download movies and TV shows. This included a social-networking site exclusively for book lovers called Shelfari. Amazon also launched Endless.com, a shoe and accessories e-tailer, in 2007, and later grafted it into its main site at Amazon.com/Fashion. 在地方层面，亚马逊于 2006 年在西雅图启动了干杂货服务，并于 2007 年将其扩展到包括易腐物品。亚马逊也在娱乐行业继续增长。2007 年，该公司推出了一个 MP3 网站，向用户出售音频文件，没有版权限制。它还收购了有声读物出版商 Brilliance audio，并推出了一项视频点播服务，允许用户流式传输或下载电影和电视节目。这包括一个专门为图书爱好者提供的社交网站 Shelfari。亚马逊还在 2007 年推出了鞋类和配饰电子零售商 Endless.com，后来将其嫁接到其位于 Amazon.com/Fashion 的主网站。
In 2007, Amazon also ventured into hardware development with the release of the first-generation Kindle, which sold out in less than six hours. This was not surprising because Amazon sells its Kindle devices at or even below cost. ^(13){ }^{13} This has enabled the company to penetrate the e-reader and tablet market where competitors such as Apple have a strong hold. Amazon’s losses from sales of computer hardware more than made up for by the sales of e-books, movies, and other digital content sold through the Kindle. Subsequent editions incorporated new features such as a larger screen (DX), a keyboard (Kindle Keyboard), and a touchscreen (Kindle Touch). ^(14){ }^{14} 2007 年，亚马逊还涉足硬件开发领域，发布了第一代 Kindle，该手机在不到 6 小时内就售罄。这并不奇怪，因为亚马逊以甚至低于成本的价格销售其 Kindle 设备。 ^(13){ }^{13} 这使该公司能够渗透到 Apple 等竞争对手拥有强大地位的电子阅读器和平板电脑市场。亚马逊因计算机硬件销售而遭受的损失被通过 Kindle 销售的电子书、电影和其他数字内容的销售所弥补。后续版本加入了新功能，例如大屏幕 （DX）、键盘 （Kindle 键盘） 和触摸屏 （Kindle Touch）。 ^(14){ }^{14}
To provide a more seamless reading and educational experience, Amazon complemented the Kindle line of tablets and e-readers with the purchase of Audible, an digital audio books provider, for $300\$ 300 million in 2008. ^(15){ }^{15} In 2013, Amazon also acquired the website Goodreads.com, a book-sharing social network that provides user-generated book reviews and reading lists, for an undisclosed amount. ^(16){ }^{16} 为了提供更无缝的阅读和教育体验，亚马逊在 2008 年以 $300\$ 300 百万美元的价格收购了数字有声读物提供商 Audible，以补充了 Kindle 平板电脑和电子阅读器系列。 ^(15){ }^{15} 2013 年，亚马逊还收购了 Goodreads.com 网站，这是一个图书共享社交网络，提供用户生成的书评和阅读清单，收购金额未披露。 ^(16){ }^{16}
To take advantage of the anticipated popularity of e-books and e-readers, Amazon launched Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) in conjunction with the Kindle in 2007, to make it easier for authors to selfpublish books. An author can publish their work through KDP quickly and have it available around the world the next day via Kindle devices and the Kindle app. Independent publishers receive a 70%70 \% royalty while maintaining the flexibility to make changes to their work at any time. Paper-bound copies may be printed using Amazon’s Create Space services. In 2011, sales from e-books surpassed paper book sales for the first time. ^(17){ }^{17} A subscription to Prime also provides users with access to more than 350,000 book titles through the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library, making Amazon Prime an integral part of the Kindle experience. Sales of the Kindle itself were estimated at 20 million units in 2013. ^(18){ }^{18} 为了利用电子书和电子阅读器的预期普及，亚马逊于 2007 年与 Kindle 一起推出了 Kindle 自助出版 （KDP），使作者更容易自行出版书籍。作者可以通过 KDP 快速发布他们的作品，并在第二天通过 Kindle 设备和 Kindle 应用程序在全球范围内提供。独立出版商获得 70%70 \% 版税，同时保持随时更改其作品的灵活性。纸质装订副本可以使用 Amazon 的 Create Space 服务进行打印。2011 年，电子书的销量首次超过纸质图书的销量。 ^(17){ }^{17} 订阅 Prime 还为用户提供了通过 Kindle 所有者借阅图书馆访问超过 350,000 本图书的机会，使 Amazon Prime 成为 Kindle 体验不可或缺的一部分。据估计，2013 年 Kindle 本身的销量为 2000 万台。 ^(18){ }^{18}
In 2008, Amazon acquired Zappos, an online shoe company known for exceptional customer service, for $1\$ 1 billion. Amazon runs Zappos as an independent subsidiary with its own site (zappos.com). That same year, Amazon sold its European online DVD rental services to LOVEFiLM International for a 40% share in its business; it purchased the remaining shares in 2011 to complete the acquisition. Amazon also became a major investor in The Talk Market, a user-created TV Shopping Channel. 2008 年，亚马逊以 $1\$ 1 数十亿美元的价格收购了 Zappos，这是一家以卓越客户服务而闻名的在线鞋业公司。Amazon 将 Zappos 作为独立的子公司运营，拥有自己的站点 （zappos.com）。同年，亚马逊将其欧洲在线 DVD 租赁服务出售给 LOVEFiLM International，以获得其 40% 的业务份额;它于 2011 年购买了剩余股份以完成收购。亚马逊还成为用户创建的电视购物频道 The Talk Market 的主要投资者。
The breadth of products and services on offer at Amazon helped insulate it from the worst of the fallout from the 2008-2009 global recession. In fact, online retail rose by 11%11 \% in 2009 despite the depressed economy as shoppers were looking for bargains online. Americans buying items online increased from 27%27 \% of all Internet users in 2000 to nearly 63%63 \% in 2014, and is projected to reach 68 percent by 2018, spurred at least in part by Amazon’s rapid and continued growth. ^(20,21){ }^{20,21} Amazon’s growth has come from the company’s traditional strengths (for example, books and retailing), as well as from other areas that the company continues to invest in and focus on. However, the focus on peripheral businesses has hit company profits because Amazon invests heavily in areas such as new fulfillment centers to improve shipment times, expansions of the Amazon Prime media service, and development of its smart devices. ^(22){ }^{22} See Exhibit 5 for Amazon’s financial performance over the past five years. Amazon 提供的产品和服务的广度帮助它免受 2008-2009 年全球经济衰退的最严重影响。事实上，尽管经济萧条，但由于购物者在网上寻找便宜货，在线零售在 2009 年有所 11%11 \% 增长。美国人在线购买商品的人数从 27%27 \% 2000 年的所有互联网用户增加到 2014 年的近 63%63 \% 2014 年，预计到 2018 年将达到 68%，这至少部分是由亚马逊的快速和持续增长所推动的。 ^(20,21){ }^{20,21} 亚马逊的增长来自公司的传统优势（例如图书和零售），以及公司继续投资和关注的其他领域。然而，对外围业务的关注打击了公司的利润，因为亚马逊在新的配送中心以缩短发货时间、扩展 Amazon Prime 媒体服务以及开发其智能设备等领域进行了大量投资。 ^(22){ }^{22} 参见图表 5，了解 Amazon 过去五年的财务业绩。
In 2009, Amazon introduced Amazon Basics or its own brand of products (e.g., phone charging cables, batteries, laptop stands, etc.). Amazon branding its own products further lowers costs and it also increases the percentage of sales that it retains. Amazon branded batteries have grown to be roughly one third of that category’s entire sales, and Amazon is extending its brand into additional categories, ranging from electronics to kitchen products and even suitcases. 2009 年，亚马逊推出了 Amazon Basics 或自有品牌的商品（例如手机充电线、电池、笔记本电脑支架等）。亚马逊对自己的产品进行品牌推广可以进一步降低成本，还可以提高其保留的销售百分比。亚马逊品牌的电池已增长到该品类总销售额的三分之一左右，亚马逊正在将其品牌扩展到其他品类，从电子产品到厨房用品，甚至手提箱。
In 2012, the company launched AmazonSupply (now AmazonBusiness) to offer business clients products such as mechanical parts, janitorial supplies, and medical supplies. By 2014, the AmazonBusiness catalog of products features 2.2 million items, relative to the market leader’s 1.2 million items. ^(23){ }^{23} In May 2016, Amazon announced that its wholesale unit, AmazonBusiness, had sold goods worth $1\$ 1 billion in its first year of operation. Amazon in its bid to capture a pie of the $7.2\$ 7.2 trillion large annual wholesale and distribution market has close to nine million items and is adding customers at a rate of about 20%20 \% per month. ^(24){ }^{24} 2012 年，该公司推出了 AmazonSupply（现为 AmazonBusiness），为企业客户提供机械零件、清洁用品和医疗用品等产品。到 2014 年，AmazonBusiness 商品目录包含 220 万件商品，而市场领导者为 120 万件商品。 ^(23){ }^{23} 2016 年 5 月，亚马逊宣布其批发部门 AmazonBusiness 在运营的第一年就售出了价值 $1\$ 1 数十亿的商品。亚马逊为了在万 $7.2\$ 7.2 亿个大型年度批发和分销市场中分得一杯羹，拥有近 900 万件商品，并且以大约 20%20 \% 每月的速度增加客户。 ^(24){ }^{24}
In 2013, Jeff Bezos announced that Amazon would start working on drone delivery of packages under the name of Prime Air. Drones are expected to pick up packages from the fulfillment centers, deliver them to the customer’s doorstep, and return to the fulfillment center with no human involvement. On the trip, drones rely on GPS data to chart a course and drop packages. While this initiative was welcomed by customers, the project was delayed due to several issues including battery life of drones, weather, unreliable GPS data, and aggressive birds. Besides technical hurdles, Prime Air services were also hampered by Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations (in the U.S.) for using drones commercially. Nonetheless, on December 7, 2016 Amazon Prime Air completed its first delivery using a drone. The package was delivered to a customer in the Cambridge area of England and made it to the customer’s home just 13 minutes after the order was placed. ^(25){ }^{25} In early 2014, Amazon filed for a patent for an Airborne Fulfillment Center (AFC), indicating that Amazon expects a bigger role for drone deliveries than just local warehouse-to-doorstep delivery. The AFC is expected to essentially be an airship flying at altitudes of 45,000ft45,000 \mathrm{ft}. that would house the items Amazon sells. The patent explains a method for drones to fly into the warehouse, pick up the items to be delivered and deliver them, all while continually airborne. ^(26){ }^{26} 2013 年，杰夫·贝索斯 （Jeff Bezos） 宣布亚马逊将开始以 Prime Air 的名义从事无人机包裹递送工作。无人机需要从运营中心取走包裹，将其运送到买家家门口，然后返回运营中心，无需人工参与。在旅途中，无人机依靠 GPS 数据来绘制路线并投递包裹。虽然这一举措受到客户的欢迎，但由于无人机的电池寿命、天气、不可靠的 GPS 数据和攻击性鸟类等几个问题，该项目被推迟。除了技术障碍外，Prime Air 服务还受到美国联邦航空管理局 （FAA） 关于商业使用无人机的规定（在美国）的阻碍。尽管如此，2016 年 12 月 7 日，亚马逊 Prime Air 使用无人机完成了首次送货。包裹已送达英格兰剑桥地区的一位客户，并在下单后仅 13 分钟就送达了客户家中。 ^(25){ }^{25} 2014 年初，亚马逊为机载配送中心 （AFC） 申请了专利，这表明亚马逊预计无人机配送将发挥更大的作用，而不仅仅是本地仓库到门配送。预计 AFC 基本上是一艘在 高度飞行的飞艇。 45,000ft45,000 \mathrm{ft} 这将容纳亚马逊销售的商品。该专利解释了一种无人机飞入仓库、拾取要交付的物品并交付它们的方法，同时不断在空中飞行。 ^(26){ }^{26}
To complement the Kindle, Amazon has launched peripheral smart devices. In 2014, Amazon launched the Fire smartphone. The device boasted features that included hands-free scrolling, holographic images, and software that uses the phone’s camera to detect merchandise in an effort to do "something different and better."27 While the hardware competed with smartphones from Samsung, Google, and Apple, the differentiation lies in the potential for the phone’s software to facilitate shopping, with some analysts likening the device to the one-click check out that the company introduced on its website in the late 1990s. Thus, the device’s “Firefly” feature enables the user to point the phone 为了补充 Kindle，亚马逊推出了外围智能设备。2014 年，亚马逊推出了 Fire 智能手机。该设备拥有的功能包括免提滚动、全息图像以及使用手机摄像头检测商品以努力做“不同和更好的事情”的软件。27 虽然硬件与三星、谷歌和苹果的智能手机竞争，但区别在于手机软件有可能方便购物，一些分析师将该设备比作该公司在 1990 年代后期在其网站上推出的一键结账。因此，该设备的“Firefly”功能使用户能够将手机指向
at conceivably any item that can be purchased on Amazon, including music and television shows, and then order it online in seconds. This creates the opportunity for commerce at just about any moment for the consumer who carries the device. The device also offers unlimited photo storage via Amazon’s cloud, circumventing a common issue by which users, who typically rely on their smartphone as their primary camera, have diminished storage space for apps or music due to the data drain of storing photos on the device itself. 可以想象，任何可以在亚马逊上购买的商品，包括音乐和电视节目，然后在几秒钟内在线订购。这几乎为携带设备的消费者创造了几乎任何时间的商业机会。该设备还通过亚马逊的云提供无限的照片存储，规避了一个常见问题，即通常依赖智能手机作为主相机的用户由于在设备上存储照片会消耗数据，从而减少了应用程序或音乐的存储空间。
Despite the promise and the launch fanfare, the device proved to be a major disappointment. Users gave the device an approval rate of just over 50%50 \%, and reviewers described the device as “forgettable” and “mediocre.” ^(28){ }^{28} To entice consumers to buy the device, the company reduced the price from $199\$ 199, to $0.99\$ 0.99. But even this radical move failed to help gain share in the smartphone market against the likes of Apple, Google, and Samsung. Weak sales of the device meant that the anticipated added consumers funneled to Amazon’s online store via the phone did not materialize. Overall, it is estimated that the company took a $170\$ 170 million write-down and has sold less than 50,000 units (compared with over 20 million units for Apple’s iPhone 6, a mere four months after launch). ^(29)^(30){ }^{29}{ }^{30} In short, the Fire phone was Amazon’s first significant misstep for a company that has a habit of making diversification and expansion into adjacent businesses a success. 尽管有承诺和大张旗鼓的发布，但事实证明该设备令人大失所望。用户给该设备的批准率略高于 50%50 \% ，评论者将该设备描述为“容易忘记”和“平庸”。 ^(28){ }^{28} 为了吸引消费者购买该设备，该公司将价格从 $199\$ 199 、 降至 $0.99\$ 0.99 。但即使是这一激进的举措也未能帮助在智能手机市场上获得份额，以对抗苹果、谷歌和三星等公司。该设备的销售疲软意味着通过手机涌入亚马逊在线商店的预期增加消费者并未实现。总体而言，据估计，该公司进行了 100 $170\$ 170 万台减记，销量不到 50,000 台（相比之下，苹果 iPhone 6 在发布仅四个月后就售出了 2000 多万台）。 ^(29)^(30){ }^{29}{ }^{30} 简而言之，Fire 手机是亚马逊的第一个重大失误，因为这家公司习惯于将多元化和扩展到相邻业务取得成功。
In April 2014, Amazon also launched Fire TV, a set-top box that streams video and games. This put Amazon in the market for consumer’s living rooms, where the likes of Apple, Google, Roku, and even Comcast had their own devices already on the market for content streaming. Fire TV, as with the Fire phone, was introduced with an upfront price tag, which is contrary to Amazon’s tradition of offering its hardware to consumers at cost, and charging for related services and/or content. Despite Amazon’s assurances that the device was geared more toward entertainment as opposed to selling merchandise, the company admitted that the shopping aspect of the device was anticipated to "get in the way of the entertainment focus of the device. ^(311){ }^{311} However, consumer reception of the device was strong, very much unlike the Fire phone. Since launch, it is estimated that more than 10 million fire TV boxes have been installed. ^(322){ }^{322} In October 2014, the company launched the HDMI stick version of the set-top box, which is not only more cost effective than the box iteration of the device ($39 versus the set-top box’s $99), but makes integration between Fire TV, a_(4)\mathrm{a}_{4} Fire phone, and a Fire tablet seamless and convenient for consumers who have compatible devices. 2014 年 4 月，亚马逊还推出了 Fire TV，这是一款流式传输视频和游戏的机顶盒。这使亚马逊进入了消费者客厅市场，Apple、Google、Roku 甚至 Comcast 等公司都已经在市场上拥有自己的内容流媒体设备。与 Fire 手机一样，Fire TV 的推出带有一口价标签，这与亚马逊以成本价向消费者提供硬件并为相关服务和/或内容收费的传统背道而驰。尽管亚马逊保证该设备更面向娱乐而不是销售商品，但该公司承认，预计该设备的购物方面将“妨碍设备的娱乐重点。 ^(311){ }^{311} 然而，消费者对该设备的接受度很高，这与 Fire 手机非常不同。自推出以来，估计已安装超过 1000 万个 Fire TV 盒子。 ^(322){ }^{322} 2014 年 10 月，该公司推出了 HDMI 棒版本的机顶盒，它不仅比该设备的盒式迭代更具成本效益（39 美元，而机顶盒为 99 美元），而且使 Fire TV、 a_(4)\mathrm{a}_{4} Fire 手机和 Fire 平板电脑之间的集成无缝连接，为拥有兼容设备的消费者提供便利。
In addition to its e-book offerings, Amazon has been expanding the online content that is available to its customers (particularly those who use Amazon devices) in an effort to position the company as a central hub to its consumers. In 2014, Amazon Appstore, the company’s virtual portal to apps and games for its mobile devices, offered more than 240,000 apps and games and is designed to directly rival Google’s Play and Apple’s App Store platforms (although the latter platforms offered consumers over one million apps) ^(35){ }^{35} Since June 2014, Amazon has been providing Prime Music, an online music streaming option that is free for Amazon Prime subscribers. The service is designed to rival the likes of Spotify and Pandora, but without the advertising that has long been an annoyance for consumers, yet which is vital as a revenue stream to music-streaming services. ^(36){ }^{36} 除了电子书产品外，亚马逊还一直在扩展其客户（尤其是使用亚马逊设备的客户）可用的在线内容，以努力将公司定位为消费者的中心枢纽。2014 年，亚马逊应用商店是该公司为其移动设备提供应用程序和游戏的虚拟门户，提供了超过 240,000 个应用程序和游戏，旨在直接与谷歌的 Play 和苹果的 App Store 平台竞争（尽管后者平台为消费者提供了超过 100 万个应用程序） ^(35){ }^{35} 自 2014 年 6 月以来，亚马逊一直在提供 Prime Music，这是一种对 Amazon Prime 订阅者免费的在线音乐流媒体选项。该服务旨在与 Spotify 和 Pandora 等公司相媲美，但没有长期以来一直困扰消费者的广告，但作为音乐流媒体服务的收入来源却至关重要。 ^(36){ }^{36}
Similarly, and in conjunction with the launch of Fire TV, Amazon also began to offer video streaming as a means to compete with Google’s YouTube and Netflix. Launched with Fire TV, the service gives subscribers a library of content to stream, which encompasses not only Netflix, Hulu, and ESPN, but also Amazon’s own Prime Instant Video library. ^(37){ }^{37} In addition, Amazon has taken the initiative in streaming content by partnering with HBO. This marked the first time a player in traditional cable 同样，随着 Fire TV 的推出，亚马逊也开始提供视频流，作为与 Google 的 YouTube 和 Netflix 竞争的一种手段。该服务与 Fire TV 一起推出，为订阅者提供了一个要流式传输的内容库，其中不仅包括 Netflix、Hulu 和 ESPN，还包括亚马逊自己的 Prime Instant Video 库。 ^(37){ }^{37} 此外，亚马逊还通过与 HBO 合作，在流媒体内容方面采取了主动。这标志着传统电缆领域的参与者首次出现
entered the online content-streaming space. The deal was seen as a significant blow to Netflix, given that it prevented HBO’s parent company Time Warner from striking a similar deal with Amazon’s competitors, including Netflix and Hulu. ^(38){ }^{38} 进入在线内容流领域。这笔交易被视为对 Netflix 的重大打击，因为它阻止了 HBO 的母公司时代华纳与亚马逊的竞争对手（包括 Netflix 和 Hulu）达成类似的交易。 ^(38){ }^{38}
As a step further, Amazon created its own content for streaming, which has even garnered critical acclaim: the company’s television series Transparent won a 2015 Golden Globe. ^(39){ }^{39} The independent movies are intended for theatrical release and will be available for digital streaming as part of the Prime library within two months of release-as opposed to three months or more with respect to typical theatrically-released movies. ^(40){ }^{40} “X-ray for Movies” was developed through Amazon’s acquisition of IMDb, allowing users to interact with the video to obtain detailed information about the movie’s characters, directors, writers, and other elements. This feature has been extended to most Amazon Videos offerings. There is also an “X-ray” product for books that offers the same features except that terms are linked from the books to YouTube and Wikipedia. 更进一步，亚马逊创建了自己的流媒体内容，该内容甚至获得了好评：该公司的电视连续剧《透明人》赢得了 2015 年金球奖。 ^(39){ }^{39} 独立电影旨在用于影院发行，并将在上映后两个月内作为 Prime 库的一部分用于数字流媒体，而典型的影院发行电影则需要三个月或更长时间。 ^(40){ }^{40} “X-ray for Movies”是通过亚马逊收购 IMDb 开发的，允许用户与视频互动，以获取有关电影角色、导演、编剧和其他元素的详细信息。此功能已扩展到大多数 Amazon Videos 产品。还有一个用于书籍的“X-ray”产品，它提供相同的功能，只是术语从书籍链接到 YouTube 和维基百科。
In an extension of its video-streaming capability, Amazon has also expanded into the realm of video gaming through its acquisition of Twitch Interactive. Twitch broadcasts video of consumers playing a variety of video games, and it is the fourth largest source of internet traffic behind only Netflix, Google, and Apple. Amazon has made an active push into video gaming, expanding the number of programmers it employs and introducing several new video games as part of its Fire TV offering. ^(41){ }^{41} 作为视频流功能的扩展，亚马逊还通过收购 Twitch Interactive 扩展到视频游戏领域。Twitch 播放消费者玩各种视频游戏的视频，它是仅次于 Netflix、Google 和 Apple 的第四大互联网流量来源。亚马逊积极进军视频游戏领域，扩大了其雇用的程序员数量，并推出了几款新的视频游戏作为其 Fire TV 产品的一部分。 ^(41){ }^{41}
In November 2014, Amazon introduced Echo, a new category of devices that are controlled solely by voice commands. The device equipped with a speaker system connects to the owner’s Amazon account and allows purchases to be made using voice commands. It plays music from Amazon Music, Spotify, and Pandora accounts using voice commands. It allows users to control lights, switches, and thermostats with compatible smart home devices. Introduced with an upfront price tag of $179.99\$ 179.99, it uses Amazon Web Services to constantly learn and add functionality over time. A few months after the launch, Amazon added the Tap and Dot devices as lower cost alternatives to the Echo. They contain the same proprietary digital voice assistant, Alexa, as the Echo. Within a few months of the launch, Echo devices have overtaken all Amazon hardware devices in sales dollar volume. In December 2016, Amazon was estimated to have sold 5.2 million units worldwide during the year, excluding holiday sales. ^(42){ }^{42} 2014 年 11 月，Amazon 推出了 Echo，这是一种仅由语音命令控制的新型设备。配备扬声器系统的设备连接到所有者的亚马逊账户，并允许使用语音命令进行购买。它使用语音命令播放来自 Amazon Music、Spotify 和 Pandora 帐户的音乐。它允许用户使用兼容的智能家居设备控制灯、开关和恒温器。它以 的一口价标签 $179.99\$ 179.99 推出，它使用 Amazon Web Services 随着时间的推移不断学习和添加功能。发布几个月后，亚马逊添加了 Tap 和 Dot 设备作为 Echo 的低成本替代品。它们包含与 Echo 相同的专有数字语音助手 Alexa。在推出后的几个月内，Echo 设备的销售额已经超过了所有 Amazon 硬件设备。2016 年 12 月，亚马逊估计全年全球销量为 520 万件，不包括假日销售。 ^(42){ }^{42}
Alexa, the voice service that is embedded in the Amazon Echo, Echo Dot, and Amazon Tap, enables customers to interact with devices in a more intuitive way using voice. The goal of Alexa was inspired by the computer voice and conversational system on board the starship Enterprise in science fiction TV series, Star Trek. Alexa runs on the cloud and adapts to speech patterns, vocabulary, and the user’s preferences. Alexa allows app creators and developers to directly market services to customers ranging from ordering flowers to reading the daily news headlines as well as audio books from Audible. The Amazon Echo was the number one selling product across all $100+\$ 100+ products on Amazon.com on Black Friday 2015. Amazon has also created the Alexa Fund that provides up to $100\$ 100 million in investments to fuel voice technology innovation. Alexa is one of the first breakthrough products and services using artificial intelligence and machine learning combined with a voice-activated interface. Many observers see this as the future of computing. ^(43){ }^{43} Alexa 是嵌入在 Amazon Echo、Echo Dot 和 Amazon Tap 中的语音服务，使客户能够使用语音以更直观的方式与设备交互。Alexa 的目标受到科幻电视连续剧《星际迷航》中星际飞船企业号上的计算机语音和对话系统的启发。Alexa 在云上运行，并适应语音模式、词汇和用户的偏好。Alexa 允许应用程序创建者和开发人员直接向客户推销服务，从订购鲜花到阅读每日新闻头条以及 Audible 的有声读物。Amazon Echo 是 2015 年黑色星期五 Amazon.com 上所有 $100+\$ 100+ 商品中销量第一的商品。亚马逊还创建了 Alexa 基金，提供高达 $100\$ 100 数百万美元的投资，以推动语音技术创新。Alexa 是首批将人工智能和机器学习与语音激活界面相结合的突破性产品和服务之一。许多观察家认为这是计算的未来。 ^(43){ }^{43}
Amazon continues to diversify at a relentless pace. Besides offering same-day delivery of groceries in some metropolitan areas and testing drones for even faster distribution, Amazon now plans to capture a large piece of the over $10\$ 10 billion college bookstore market. In a pilot project, Amazon Amazon 继续以不懈的速度实现多元化。除了在一些大都市地区提供杂货当日送达和测试无人机以加快配送速度外，亚马逊现在还计划在超过 $10\$ 10 十亿的大学书店市场中占据很大一部分。在试点项目中，Amazon
initiated a student-centered program at three large universities: Purdue University, the University of California, Davis, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The goal of Amazon Campus is cobranded university-specific websites that offer textbooks, paraphernalia such as the ubiquitous logo sweaters and baseball hats, as well as ramen noodles! 在普渡大学、加州大学戴维斯分校和马萨诸塞大学阿默斯特分校这三所大型大学启动了一个以学生为中心的项目。Amazon Campus 的目标是联合品牌大学特定网站，提供教科书、用具，如无处不在的标志毛衣和棒球帽，以及拉面！
As part of this new campus initiative, Amazon offers its Prime membership to students at a 50 percent discount ( $49\$ 49 a year) and guarantees unlimited next-day delivery of any goods ordered online, besides all the other Prime membership benefits (free streaming of media content, loaning one e-book a month for free, discounts on hardware, etc.). To accomplish next-day delivery, Amazon is building fashionable delivery centers on campus, university co-branded such as “amazon@purdue.” Once a package arrives, students receive a text message and can then retrieve it via code-activated lockers or from Amazon employees directly. The on-campus delivery facilities also serve as student return centers. 作为这项新校园计划的一部分，亚马逊以 50% 的折扣（ $49\$ 49 一年）为学生提供 Prime 会员资格，并保证在线订购的任何商品在次日无限送达，此外还有所有其他 Prime 会员福利（免费流媒体媒体内容、每月免费借阅一本电子书、硬件折扣等）。为了实现次日送达，亚马逊正在校园内建造时尚的配送中心，并与大学联合品牌“amazon@purdue”合作。包裹到达后，学生会收到一条短信，然后可以通过代码激活的储物柜或直接从 Amazon 员工那里取回它。校内送货设施也用作学生返回中心。
Amazon’s new campus initiative allows it to bind a younger generation of shoppers ever closer into its web of products, services, and content. Next-day delivery makes students less likely to shop at traditional campus bookstores. Amazon also has a history of selling textbooks at a discount in comparison to old-line campus bookstores. All course materials automatically qualify for next-day delivery and do not require a Prime membership. The Amazon Campus initiative is predicted to save students $200\$ 200 to $400\$ 400 a year on textbooks and other supplies. Amazon 的新园区计划使其能够将年轻一代购物者更紧密地吸引到其产品、服务和内容网络中。次日送达使学生不太可能在传统的校园书店购物。与老式校园书店相比，亚马逊也有以折扣价销售教科书的历史。所有课程材料都自动符合次日送达资格，不需要 Prime 会员资格。据预测，Amazon Campus 计划将为学生 $200\$ 200 节省 $400\$ 400 一年的教科书和其他用品费用。
Another area of focus for Amazon is its supply chain. From the start, Amazon has been opening centrally-located warehouses to save on a key cost component-shipping. Shipping costs remain one of Amazon’s main cost drivers, and the technology company is committed to continue lowering it. While Amazon lost close to $7.2\$ 7.2 billion in shipping costs last year, it has also been able to achieve higher efficiency by building its own infrastructure. Even though Amazon has been offering free shipping on increasingly more items, it has still witnessed an uptick in percentage shipping costs being recovered in the form of shipping revenue from 34.6%34.6 \% in 2011 to 53.3%53.3 \% in 2016.44 According to a new study published by National Bureau of Economic Research this increased efficiency has allowed Amazon to reduce prices of products on its portal by as much as 40%40 \% over a 10-year time-frame. A 50%50 \% reduction in the free shipping threshold from $49\$ 49 to $25\$ 25 in last six months is another testimony to the immense pricing power which Amazon can draw from its robust supply chain infrastructure. 45 Walmart.com started in 2017 to offer free shipping for any order above $35\$ 35. 亚马逊的另一个关注领域是其供应链。从一开始，亚马逊就一直在开设位于中央的仓库，以节省关键成本——运费。运费仍然是亚马逊的主要成本驱动因素之一，这家科技公司致力于继续降低运费。虽然 Amazon 去年损失了 $7.2\$ 7.2 近 00 亿美元的运输成本，但它也能够通过构建自己的基础设施来实现更高的效率。尽管亚马逊一直在为越来越多的商品提供免费送货服务，但从 34.6%34.6 \% 2011 年到 53.3%53.3 \% 2016 年，它仍然见证了以运输收入形式收回的运输成本百分比的上升。根据美国国家经济研究局发布的一项新研究，这种效率的提高使亚马逊能够在 10 年 40%40 \% 的时间范围内将其门户网站上的产品价格降低多达 10 年。从过去六个月开始 50%50 \% ，免费送货门槛 $49\$ 49$25\$ 25 的降低再次证明了亚马逊可以从其强大的供应链基础设施中获得巨大的定价能力。45 Walmart.com 始于 2017 年，为上述 $35\$ 35 任何订单提供免费送货服务。
Amazon is now making in-roads in the global logistics services. To benefit from the $1\$ 1 trillion large cross-border trade, Amazon has initiated a global supply chain project code named “Dragon Boat.” The underlying motive of this project is to allow seamless movement of goods from factories in the East (China and Southeast Asia) to its customers in the West. 46 Another move in this direction was when in December 2016, Amazon launched a new cargo service, expanding its transportation from trucks to airplanes. Amazon leased 40 jets emblazoned with “Prime Air” to support their holiday season deliveries, which are usually shipped through FedEx and UPS. Amazon maintains that this fleet is to supplement the capacity of the shipping companies, rather than replace them. 47 亚马逊现在正在进军全球物流服务领域。为了从 $1\$ 1 万亿的大型跨境贸易中获益，亚马逊启动了代号为“龙舟”的全球供应链项目。该项目的根本动机是允许货物从东部（中国和东南亚）的工厂无缝移动到西部的客户。46 朝着这个方向迈出的另一个举措是在 2016 年 12 月，亚马逊推出了一项新的货运服务，将其运输从卡车扩展到飞机。亚马逊租赁了 40 架印有“Prime Air”的喷气式飞机来支持他们的假日季送货，这些送货通常通过 FedEx 和 UPS 运送。亚马逊坚持认为，这支船队是为了补充航运公司的运力，而不是取代它们。47
Amazon's Corporate Strategy 亚马逊的企业战略
As the largest comparative-shopping website boasting “Earths largest selection” of consumer goods, Amazon satisfies the desire of customers to find everything on their shopping list at one place without 作为最大的比较购物网站，亚马逊拥有“地球上最大的选择”消费品，它满足了买家在一个地方找到购物清单上所有商品的愿望，而无需
leaving home. ^(48){ }^{48} In addition to the products that Amazon carries directly, it provides a marketplace for customers to purchase goods from third-party vendors. The Amazon Marketplace is a platform on which any qualified seller can access Amazon customers globally. About 50% of Amazon’s retail sales are conducted on its Marketplace. Pursuing its mission of being the “Earth’s most customer-centric company,” Amazon excels at customer service. Indeed, a recent survey ranked Amazon as the most wellregarded company in the United States. ^(49){ }^{49} The online retailer pioneered the recommendation system by which customized suggestions on shopping items, books, music, and so forth are made to customers based on their buying patterns, preferences, and characteristics of their shopping history as well as that of others with similar profiles. This creates a more personalized shopping experience, especially important when transacting online. As a consumer adds items to their online shopping cart, Amazon then suggests complementary products, frequently offering a bundled price at a discount. 离开家。 ^(48){ }^{48} 除了亚马逊直接销售的产品外，它还为客户提供了一个从第三方供应商处购买商品的市场。Amazon Marketplace 是一个平台，任何合格的卖家都可以在该平台上访问全球的 Amazon 客户。亚马逊大约 50% 的零售额在其 Marketplace 上进行。亚马逊的使命是成为“地球上最以客户为中心的公司”，在客户服务方面表现出色。事实上，最近的一项调查将亚马逊列为美国最受尊敬的公司。 ^(49){ }^{49} 这家在线零售商开创了推荐系统，通过该系统，根据客户的购买模式、偏好和购物历史特征以及具有相似资料的其他人的购买模式、偏好和购物历史特征，向客户提供有关购物商品、书籍、音乐等的定制建议。这创造了更加个性化的购物体验，在网上交易时尤其重要。当消费者将商品添加到他们的在线购物车中时，亚马逊会推荐互补产品，通常会以折扣价提供捆绑价格。
Globally, only Alibaba, China’s leading e-commerce conglomerate, is larger than Amazon. Besides offering a wide variety of products and services, Amazon also diversified geographically pretty much from the outset. Today, Amazon operates country-specific sites in more than a dozen countries, including in China (amazon.cn). Currently, Amazon is making a major push into India (amazon.in), where the domestic Flipkart-started by former Amazon employees-took an early lead. 在全球范围内，只有中国领先的电子商务集团阿里巴巴的规模超过亚马逊。除了提供种类繁多的产品和服务外，亚马逊还从一开始就实现了地域多元化。如今，Amazon 在包括中国 （amazon.cn） 在内的十多个国家/地区运营着特定于国家/地区的站点。目前，亚马逊正在大力进军印度 （amazon.in），由亚马逊前员工创立的国内 Flipkart 很早就领先。
In 2011, Amazon launched its own advertising network in order to generate targeted ads for its online customers. A customer browsing Amazon for a particular item but did not end up purchasing anything was tagged and then served an ad for that particular item when the customer returned to shop at a later stage. According to eMarketer, Amazon’s network generated an estimated $870\$ 870 million in ad revenue in 2014, and is forecast to bring in over $1\$ 1 billion in 2017^(50)2017{ }^{50} Amazon also has plans to ramp this program up to challenge Google for a larger piece of the $50\$ 50 billion-per-year online advertising market. Under these plans, Amazon is set to use its customer data to expand its in-house ad platform (dubbed Amazon Sponsored Links) to ultimately replace the ads that Google currently supplies on its website. ^(51){ }^{51} 2011 年，亚马逊推出了自己的广告网络，以便为其在线顾客生成有针对性的广告。买家在亚马逊上浏览特定商品，但最终没有购买任何商品，然后当买家稍后返回购物时，该商品被标记并投放了该特定商品的广告。根据 eMarketer 的数据，亚马逊的网络在 2014 年产生了大约 $870\$ 870 数百万的广告收入，预计将带来超过 $1\$ 1 10 亿美元的收入 2017^(50)2017{ }^{50} 亚马逊还计划扩大该计划，以挑战谷歌在每年 $50\$ 50 数十亿的在线广告市场中占据更大的份额。根据这些计划，亚马逊将利用其客户数据来扩展其内部广告平台（称为亚马逊赞助商链接），以最终取代谷歌目前在其网站上提供的广告。 ^(51){ }^{51}
In order to better support online retailing’s competition with brick-and-mortar retailing, Amazon recently deployed a pilot program of using robotic sorting in several of the company’s fulfillment warehouses during the busy holiday season. ^(52){ }^{52} The initiative was the culmination of Amazon’s acquisition of Kiva Systems in 2012 for $775\$ 775 million and was aimed at helping Amazon reduce the time taken to sort and pack goods towards guaranteeing same-day or overnight deliveries of packages. The use of 10,000 robots might not only offer a competitive edge in terms of fulfillment, it also has the potential for Amazon to save between $400\$ 400 and $900\$ 900 million. Indeed, fulfillment costs amounted to $2.6\$ 2.6 billion in the third quarter of 2014 , up 30%30 \% on the previous quarter. 为了更好地支持在线零售与实体零售的竞争，Amazon 最近部署了一项试点计划，在繁忙的假日季期间，在公司的几个配送仓库中使用机器人分拣。 ^(52){ }^{52} 该计划是亚马逊在 2012 年以 $775\$ 775 百万美元收购 Kiva Systems 的高潮，旨在帮助亚马逊减少分拣和包装商品所需的时间，以保证包裹的当天或隔夜送达。使用 10,000 个机器人不仅可能在履行方面提供竞争优势，而且还有可能让亚马逊节省 $400\$ 400$900\$ 900 数百万美元。事实上，2014 年第三季度的履行成本达到 $2.6\$ 2.6 10 亿美元，比上一季度有所增加 30%30 \% 。
In support of online retailing, Amazon recently opened several brick-and-mortar stores in the United States. These physical retail stores serve as yet another way by which Amazon can touch the customer. The retail locations enable next day delivery for many items, pickup of online orders, and exchange or return purchases. ^(53){ }^{53} In particular, the ability to return or exchange purchases in person becomes especially attractive to consumers. Such a service would negate potential frustration of having to repackage a purchase and drop it off for shipping where there is always the potential for it to be lost in transit. Moreover, these retail locations also offer lockers where customers can safely retrieve their purchases, overcoming the rampant theft problem of items left at the apartment doors, especially in metropolitan cities. With the bankruptcy filing of Radio Shack, there is speculation that Amazon may acquire Radio Shack’s storefronts as a way to expeditiously launch into brick-and-mortar retailing in a widespread and cost-effective way. ^(54){ }^{54} Amazon also announced that they would open cashier-less grocery 为了支持在线零售，亚马逊最近在美国开设了几家实体店。这些实体零售店是亚马逊接触客户的另一种方式。零售地点支持许多商品的次日送达、在线订单的取货以及换货或退货。 ^(53){ }^{53} 特别是，亲自退货或换货的能力对消费者特别有吸引力。这样的服务将消除必须重新包装购买并将其投递到运输过程中总是有可能丢失的潜在挫败感。此外，这些零售点还提供储物柜，客户可以安全地取回他们购买的物品，克服了留在公寓门口的物品被盗的猖獗问题，尤其是在大都市。随着 Radio Shack 的破产申请，人们猜测亚马逊可能会收购 Radio Shack 的店面，以一种广泛且具有成本效益的方式迅速进入实体零售业。 ^(54){ }^{54} 亚马逊还宣布将开设无收银员杂货店
stores under the umbrella Amazon Go in Seattle in December 2016. As customers walk in, they scan their phones at a kiosk and walk out with items they wish to purchase which are automatically charged to their Amazon accounts. The technology relies on video streaming, computer vision, and sensors that identify and track customers. Deep-learning algorithms have faced issues when more than 20 customers are present, and this issue may set back the launch date for Amazon Go. ^(55){ }^{55} 2016 年 12 月在西雅图的 Amazon Go 旗下商店。当客户走进来时，他们会在自助服务亭扫描手机，然后带着他们想要购买的商品走出去，这些商品会自动从他们的亚马逊账户中扣除。该技术依赖于视频流、计算机视觉以及识别和跟踪客户的传感器。当超过 20 个客户在场时，深度学习算法会遇到问题，这个问题可能会推迟 Amazon Go 的发布日期。 ^(55){ }^{55}
The company has also moved further up the retail value chain into the wholesale and distribution market; a market worth $7.2\$ 7.2 trillion. Amazon Business’ ability to provide a client-friendly interface, 24/7 delivery, and low prices made it a significant competitive threat to incumbents that were composed primarily of family-run, regional businesses that emphasized personal interaction in the sales process. 该公司还进一步向零售价值链上游进入批发和分销市场;一个价值数万亿的 $7.2\$ 7.2 市场。Amazon Business 提供客户友好型界面、24/7 全天候交付和低廉价格的能力使其成为对现有企业的重大竞争威胁，这些企业主要由强调销售过程中个人互动的家族经营的区域企业组成。
AWS is viewed as having the potential to eclipse Amazon’s retail business in revenue in the medium to long term ^(56){ }^{56} (Exhibit 4). Although exhibiting healthy growth at an estimated 35 to 40 percent per year, it is clear that AWS does not have the Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) market to itself. Competition has increased from companies with deep pockets; in particular, Microsoft’s Azure cloud service and Google’s Cloud Platform. Other notable competitors moving in on the IaaS space includes AliCloud, Verizon, Cisco, IBM, and VMware. ^(57){ }^{57} As a result of increasing competition, AWS cut prices for its services, which in turn hurt profits in a unit that has traditionally enjoyed substantial margins. ^(58){ }^{58} AWS 被认为有可能在中长期 ^(56){ }^{56} 收入上使 Amazon 的零售业务黯然失色（图 4）。尽管每年估计以 35% 到 40% 的速度实现健康增长，但很明显，AWS 本身并不拥有基础设施即服务 （IaaS） 市场。来自财力雄厚的公司竞争加剧;特别是 Microsoft 的 Azure 云服务和 Google 的 Cloud Platform。其他进入 IaaS 领域的著名竞争对手包括 AliCloud、Verizon、Cisco、IBM 和 VMware。 ^(57){ }^{57} 由于竞争日益激烈，AWS 降低了其服务的价格，这反过来又损害了这个传统上享有可观利润的部门的利润。 ^(58){ }^{58}
Legal Challenges 法律挑战
In 2017, Amazon accounted for more than half of all online dollars spent in the U.S. ^(59){ }^{59} An increasing share of this is captured by its private-label brand of products including everything from batteries and phone chargers to cotton washcloths, under its Amazon Basics label. AWS is the world’s largest cloud computing provider. In the same year, Amazon is planning to spend twice as much on movie and TV content than HBO, a premium cable and satellite TV network owned by Time Warner. (As of summer 2017, the U.S. Department of Justice is still reviewing the proposed $85\$ 85 billion acquisition of Time Warner by AT&T.) Alexa, the virtual assistant powering Echo and other devices, is competing for dominance in the virtual reality space. 2017 年，亚马逊占美国所有在线消费的一半以上。 ^(59){ }^{59} 其中越来越多的份额来自其自有品牌商品，包括从电池和手机充电器到棉毛巾的所有商品，都在其 Amazon Basics 标签下。AWS 是全球最大的云计算提供商。同年，亚马逊计划在电影和电视内容上的支出是时代华纳旗下的优质有线和卫星电视网络 HBO 的两倍。（截至 2017 年夏天，美国司法部仍在审查 AT&T 以 10 亿美元收购时代华纳的拟议 $85\$ 85 。Alexa 是为 Echo 和其他设备提供支持的虚拟助手，正在争夺虚拟现实领域的主导地位。
With ever increasing scale and scope, Amazon is more likely to face additional legal challenges in the future. As such, Amazon’s dominance of the retail space has not gone without opposition from traditional retailers. In 2012, several U.S. states passed legislation mandating that state sales taxes must be collected for online purchases within state borders. As a result, Amazon lost part of its pricing advantage and was forced to start collecting sales taxes in Pennsylvania, Texas, and California. By 2017, the number of states requiring the company to collect sales taxes was up to 30 , in addition to the District of Columbia. ^(60){ }^{60} 随着规模和范围的不断扩大，Amazon 未来更有可能面临更多的法律挑战。因此，亚马逊在零售领域的主导地位并非没有受到传统零售商的反对。2012 年，美国几个州通过了立法，规定在州境内进行在线购物必须征收州销售税。结果，亚马逊失去了部分定价优势，被迫开始在宾夕法尼亚州、德克萨斯州和加利福尼亚州征收销售税。到 2017 年，除了哥伦比亚特区外，要求公司征收销售税的州数量高达 30 个。 ^(60){ }^{60}
Amazon’s presence in book retailing and publishing allowed it to lock-in even the largest publishing houses to multi-year contracts where Amazon serves as the portal through which books (print and digital) are marketed and sold. ^(61){ }^{61} This leverage, however, has not been without controversy, and is continually scrutinized by the EU Competition watchdog. ^(62){ }^{62} Publishing houses have argued that Amazon has set book prices below cost for many publishers (i.e., selling brand-new release of bestsellers as e-book for $9.99\$ 9.99, while hardcover books of the same title were priced at $28.95\$ 28.95 at other retailers Amazon 在图书零售和出版领域的业务使其能够与最大的出版社签订多年合同，其中 Amazon 作为书籍（印刷和数字）营销和销售的门户。 ^(61){ }^{61} 然而，这种杠杆并非没有争议，并且不断受到欧盟竞争监管机构的审查。 ^(62){ }^{62} 出版社认为，亚马逊为许多出版商将图书价格设定为低于成本的价格（即，将全新发行的畅销书作为电子书销售 $9.99\$ 9.99 ），而同名的精装书 $28.95\$ 28.95 在其他零售商的定价为
such as Barnes & Noble). In particular, publishers argue that Amazon’s discount pricing does not take into account the publisher’s expenses in content development, editing, and marketing, resulting in much lower revenues to publishers and, correspondingly, lower royalties to authors. 如Barnes & Noble）。特别是，出版商认为，亚马逊的折扣定价没有考虑到出版商在内容开发、编辑和营销方面的费用，导致出版商的收入大大降低，相应地，作者的版税也相应降低。
A much bigger legal threat is looming on the horizon, however. ^(63){ }^{63} Amazon now accounts for roughly one half of all internet retail spending in the United States. In addition, with AWS, physical retail stores, and drone deliveries, Amazon is increasingly becoming a fully vertically-integrated enterprise. Many argue that Amazon is much like a utility, providing the backbone for Internet commerce, both in the business-to-consumer (B2C) as well as in the business-to-business (B2B) space. ^(64){ }^{64} This paints a future picture in which rivals are depending more and more on Amazon’s products and services to conduct their own business. Amazon’s tremendous scale can bring it increasingly into conflict with governments. Antitrust enforcers in the U.S. such as the Department of Justice might train their sights onto Amazon. 然而，一个更大的法律威胁正在迫在眉睫。 ^(63){ }^{63} 亚马逊现在约占美国所有互联网零售支出的一半。此外，借助 AWS、实体零售店和无人机送货，Amazon 正日益成为一家完全垂直集成的企业。许多人认为，亚马逊很像一个实用程序，为企业对消费者 （B2C） 和企业对企业 （B2B） 领域的互联网商务提供支柱。 ^(64){ }^{64} 这描绘了一幅未来的图景，竞争对手越来越依赖亚马逊的产品和服务来开展自己的业务。Amazon 的巨大规模可能会使其与政府发生越来越大的冲突。美国的反垄断执法机构（如司法部）可能会将目光投向亚马逊。
Competitors and Industry Convergence 竞争对手和行业融合
Although Jeff Bezos claims to think of customers only, and as such, urges Amazon’s employees to have an obsessive customer focus, the list of competitors included in the company’s annual filings is getting longer and longer. ^(65){ }^{65} It features not only retailers in their various forms (online, offline, and multi-channels), publishers, film producers, distributors, but also online search engines and companies that design, manufacture, market, and sell telecommunications and electronic devices, as well as logistics and advertising companies. ^(66){ }^{66} 尽管 Jeff Bezos 声称只考虑客户，因此敦促 Amazon 的员工以客户为中心，但该公司年度申报中包含的竞争对手名单越来越长。 ^(65){ }^{65} 它不仅包括各种形式的零售商（在线、离线和多渠道）、出版商、电影制片人、分销商，还包括在线搜索引擎和设计、制造、营销和销售电信和电子设备的公司，以及物流和广告公司。 ^(66){ }^{66}
Amazon has continued to morph through vertical integration and continued diversification in products, services, activities, and geographies. Amazon started out as an online book retailer but has grown into a massive discount internet vendor, streaming multimedia, offering cloud computing services (AWS), and manufacturing its own electronics and telecommunication devices (e.g., Kindle and Alexa line of products). However, its ability to innovate and cultivate business around activities that are not necessarily traditional core competencies has also pitted the company against some formidable competitors. Indeed, Amazon’s innovation and expansion into other lucrative areas of the technology industry has been part of a broader convergence of industries previously the sole domain of companies like Alphabet (Google’s parent), Microsoft, and Apple. Amazon 通过垂直整合以及产品、服务、活动和地域的持续多元化不断发展。亚马逊最初是一家在线图书零售商，但已发展成为一家大型折扣互联网供应商，流式传输多媒体，提供云计算服务 （AWS），并制造自己的电子产品和电信设备（例如 Kindle 和 Alexa 系列产品）。然而，它围绕不一定是传统核心竞争力的活动进行创新和培养业务的能力也使该公司与一些强大的竞争对手相抗衡。事实上，亚马逊的创新和向技术行业其他有利可图的领域的扩张一直是更广泛融合行业的一部分，这些行业以前是 Alphabet（谷歌的母公司）、Microsoft 和 Apple 等公司的唯一领域。
Apple is the world’s largest vendor of digital media (iTunes) and a highly successful mobile device manufacturer (iPhone, iPod, iPad). Likewise, Google began as a search engine, but has similarly branched out into hardware (smartphones, Google Glass-though this was abandoned in 2015), mobile operating systems (Android), content delivery (Google Play, YouTube), internet browsing and search (Chrome), web applications (Google suite of application programs, Google Drive), cloud computing (Google Cloud), and social networking (Google+), albeit hardly a success. Facebook is the world’s largest social networking site (some two billion users globally), but it has also moved to a more mobile-oriented approach by developing advertising and apps specifically for mobile devices as well as live streaming video. Underscoring the innovation of these companies is the push to win the race to develop a truly integrative online ecosystem for consumers, which will grant them proprietary access to consumers’ data-and their wallets and those of advertisers. ^(67){ }^{67} Apple 是世界上最大的数字媒体 （iTunes） 供应商，也是一家非常成功的移动设备制造商 （iPhone、iPod、iPad）。同样，Google 最初是一个搜索引擎，但同样扩展到硬件（智能手机、Google Glass——尽管它在 2015 年被放弃）、移动操作系统 （Android）、内容交付（Google Play、YouTube）、互联网浏览和搜索 （Chrome）、Web 应用程序（Google 应用程序套件、Google Drive）、云计算 （Google Cloud） 和社交网络 （Google+），尽管几乎没有成功。Facebook 是世界上最大的社交网站（全球约 20 亿用户），但它也通过开发专门用于移动设备的广告和应用程序以及直播流媒体视频，转向更加面向移动的方法。这些公司的创新突显是推动赢得为消费者开发真正集成的在线生态系统的竞赛，这将授予他们访问消费者数据以及他们和广告商的钱包的专有访问权限。 ^(67){ }^{67}
Finally, added to this complex competitive dynamic is the meteoric rise of Alibaba, the Chinese internet giant that is able to compete directly with Amazon’s online retailing. ^(68){ }^{68} Exhibit 6 compares key 2016 financial data for Amazon, Alibaba, Alphabet, Microsoft, and Walmart. The first four are also among the top ten largest tech companies in the world by market cap (Exhibit 7). With a market cap of some $450\$ 450 billion (in spring 2017), Amazon is one of the top-five most valuable technology companies in the world, besides Apple, Alphabet, Microsoft, and Facebook (in rank order). Exhibit 8 depicts a comparison of the normalized share prices of Amazon, Alibaba, Alphabet, Microsoft, and Walmart over time. 最后，除了这种复杂的竞争动态之外，阿里巴巴的迅速崛起也使它成为中国互联网巨头，能够直接与亚马逊的在线零售业竞争。 ^(68){ }^{68} 图表 6 比较了 Amazon、阿里巴巴、Alphabet、Microsoft 和 Walmart 的 2016 年关键财务数据。前四家公司也是全球市值排名前十的科技公司之一（图 7）。Amazon 的市值约为 $450\$ 450 10 亿（截至 2017 年春季），是全球最有价值的五家科技公司之一，仅次于 Apple、Alphabet、Microsoft 和 Facebook（按排名排序）。图表 8 描述了亚马逊、阿里巴巴、Alphabet、Microsoft 和沃尔玛的标准化股价随时间的比较。
ALPHABET 字母
Under the Alphabet corporate umbrella, Google (GOOG), the search giant, has been a prominent competitor to as well as collaborator with Amazon. For instance, Amazon’s tablets run on the Android operating system. Moreover, Amazon also sells Google products on its website (including Chrome Cast and Nexus devices). 在 Alphabet 公司旗下，搜索巨头谷歌 （GOOG） 一直是亚马逊的重要竞争对手和合作者。例如，亚马逊的平板电脑在 Android 操作系统上运行。此外，亚马逊还在其网站上销售 Google 产品（包括 Chrome Cast 和 Nexus 设备）。
Google, for its part, has made significant inroads into the mobile software technology space previously dominated by Apple. Since the company acquired the Android open-source mobile platform in 2005, it has iteratively improved on the operating system such that by 2017, Android was the operating system (OS) employed by more than 80%80 \% of phones worldwide. ^(69){ }^{69} The most popular of these by far has been the Samsung Galaxy line, whose brand recognition has eclipsed that of Android since 2011. ^(70){ }^{70} To be sure, the combination of Google software and Samsung hardware has produced a smartphone that has posed the greatest threat to Apple’s traditional dominance of the smartphone space. Although Apple holds less than 20%20 \% market share with its iOS mobile operating system, it does capture most of the profits generated in the smartphone industry. 就 Google 而言，它已经在以前由 Apple 主导的移动软件技术领域取得了重大进展。自 2005 年收购 Android 开源移动平台以来，该公司对操作系统进行了迭代改进，到 2017 年，Android 已成为全球更多手机使用的 80%80 \% 操作系统 （OS）。 ^(69){ }^{69} 到目前为止，其中最受欢迎的是三星 Galaxy 系列，自 2011 年以来，其品牌知名度已超过 Android。 ^(70){ }^{70} 可以肯定的是，谷歌软件和三星硬件的结合产生了一款智能手机，它对苹果在智能手机领域的传统主导地位构成了最大的威胁。尽管 Apple 的 iOS 移动操作系统的市场份额低于 20%20 \% 市场，但它确实获得了智能手机行业产生的大部分利润。
Google itself tried its hand in producing its own phone through its acquisition of Motorola Mobility for $12.5\$ 12.5 billion in 2012.^(71)2012 .{ }^{71} However, the endeavor lasted all of 22 months as Google offloaded the handset business to Lenovo in January 2014 for the modest price of $3\$ 3 billion, while retaining Motorola Mobility’s patents. In particular, Google was able to maintain control of the more than 17,000 patents that were acquired in the 2012 deal, protecting handset manufacturers using the Android operating system against patent infringement. ^(73){ }^{73} In October 2016, Google launched the Google Pixel XL, its second attempt at a smartphone, and is expected to sell nine million smartphones in the first year. ^(74){ }^{74} 谷歌本人尝试通过以 10 亿的价格 $12.5\$ 12.52012.^(71)2012 .{ }^{71} 收购摩托罗拉移动来生产自己的手机，然而，随着谷歌于 2014 年 1 月以 $3\$ 3 10 亿美元的适中价格将手机业务出售给联想，同时保留了摩托罗拉移动的专利，这一努力持续了整整 22 个月。特别是，Google 能够保持对 2012 年交易中获得的 17,000 多项专利的控制，保护使用 Android 操作系统的手机制造商免受专利侵权。 ^(73){ }^{73} 2016 年 10 月，谷歌推出了谷歌 Pixel XL，这是其第二次尝试智能手机，预计第一年将售出 900 万部智能手机。 ^(74){ }^{74}
Google has likewise made inroads in the tablet business. The company has adapted the Android OS for use in tablets; in July 2012, it launched the Nexus 7, manufactured in partnership with Asus, and in November 2012, the 10 -inch version (Nexus 10), manufactured by Samsung. ^(75){ }^{75} Android-based tablets tend to be smaller and cheaper than their Apple counterparts, as well as more customizable to user specifications. ^(76){ }^{76} As a result, their popularity with consumers grew rapidly: By 2013, more than half of all tablets shipped were Android-based. ^(77){ }^{77} Consequently, Android tablets overtook the iPad in popularity by the end of 2013. Indeed, Android tablet sales were estimated at 120.9 million units for 2013, equivalent to almost 62%62 \% of the market, whereas iPad sales accounted for 70.4 million units, or 36%^(78)^(79)36 \%{ }^{78}{ }^{79} With the addition of the Google Chromebook to the tablet family, Google has been able to make further gains on Apple. The laptop lookalike is affordable, boots up in seconds, and comes with Google’s most popular apps pre-installed, which are free and remotely run. This cloud-based functionality limits the Chromebook in a home or business setting given that it requires perpetual connection to broadband internet. However, in an education setting, the Chromebook has quickly gained traction as a cost-effective alternative to iPads and laptops, both of which ideally require the student 谷歌同样在平板电脑业务中取得了进展。该公司已将 Android 操作系统调整为在平板电脑中使用;2012 年 7 月，它推出了与华硕合作制造的 Nexus 7，并于 2012 年 11 月推出了三星制造的 10 英寸版 （Nexus 10）。 ^(75){ }^{75} 基于 Android 的平板电脑往往比 Apple 平板电脑更小、更便宜，并且更容易根据用户规格进行定制。 ^(76){ }^{76} 因此，它们在消费者中的受欢迎程度迅速增长：到 2013 年，出货的所有平板电脑中有一半以上是基于 Android 的。 ^(77){ }^{77} 因此，到 2013 年底，Android 平板电脑的受欢迎程度超过了 iPad。事实上，2013 年 Android 平板电脑的销量估计为 1.209 亿台，几乎 62%62 \% 相当于市场销量，而 iPad 的销量为 7040 万台，或者 36%^(78)^(79)36 \%{ }^{78}{ }^{79} 随着 Google Chromebook 加入平板电脑系列，谷歌已经能够在 Apple 上取得进一步的收益。这款笔记本电脑价格实惠，可在几秒钟内启动，并预装了 Google 最受欢迎的应用程序，这些应用程序是免费的，可以远程运行。这种基于云的功能限制了家庭或企业环境中的 Chromebook，因为它需要永久连接到宽带互联网。然而，在教育环境中，Chromebook 作为 iPad 和笔记本电脑的经济高效的替代品迅速受到关注，这两者都非常适合学生
to have their own device, and for productivity software to be purchased. The cloud-based nature of the Chromebook means that students, particularly those at schools, can use any Chromebook to access their work, returning the device at the end of the class for the next student’s use. ^(80)^(81){ }^{80}{ }^{81} Google’s online portal, Google Play, rivals Apple’s iTunes as a means by which to provide an ecosystem to Android users where games, apps, music, and much more can be accessed. The Play Store has 2.6 million apps on offer to customers as opposed to iTunes 2.2 million apps, and in 2013, for the first time ever, app downloads from the Play Store outstripped downloads from the Apple App Store. ^(82){ }^{82} 拥有自己的设备，并购买生产力软件。Chromebook 基于云的特性意味着学生，尤其是学校的学生，可以使用任何 Chromebook 访问他们的作业，并在下课时将设备归还给下一位学生使用。 ^(80)^(81){ }^{80}{ }^{81} Google 的在线门户 Google Play 与 Apple 的 iTunes 相媲美，作为为 Android 用户提供生态系统的一种方式，可以访问游戏、应用程序、音乐等等。Play 商店向客户提供 260 万款应用程序，而 iTunes 只有 220 万款应用程序，2013 年，来自 Play 商店的应用程序下载量有史以来第一次超过了来自 Apple App Store 的下载量。 ^(82){ }^{82}
Google has gone on to innovate on the use of its legendary search engine, evolving to offer more content for consumers. Traditionally, Google wanted users “out of Google and to the right place as fast as possible.” Now, Google is offering reviews, photos, and other content that keep browsers on the Google page longer, transforming its core business into one that adds value via enhanced content. To better compete with Amazon, Google is also planning a deeper dive into online commerce with its “buy” button, a tool expected to behave much like Amazon’s one-click ordering feature. Google is adding the buy button to its promoted mobile search results which will redirect customers to a purchase page. The merchants will still handle actual product fulfillment, although the page will be hosted by Google. ^(83){ }^{83} Such efforts are intended to streamline Internet shopping by deterring consumers from switching their searches from Google to Amazon. ^(84){ }^{84} 谷歌继续对其传奇搜索引擎的使用进行创新，不断发展为消费者提供更多内容。传统上，Google 希望用户 “尽快离开 Google 并到达正确的地方”。现在，Google 正在提供评论、照片和其他内容，让浏览器在 Google 页面上停留更长时间，将其核心业务转变为通过增强内容增加价值的业务。为了更好地与亚马逊竞争，谷歌还计划通过其 “购买” 按钮更深入地研究在线商务，该工具的行为预计将与亚马逊的一键订购功能非常相似。Google 正在将购买按钮添加到其推广的移动搜索结果中，这会将客户重定向到购买页面。商家仍将处理实际的产品履行，尽管该页面将由 Google 托管。 ^(83){ }^{83} 这些努力旨在通过阻止消费者将搜索从 Google 转向 Amazon 来简化网上购物。 ^(84){ }^{84}
To further compete with Apple and Amazon, Google launched its own TV set-top box in mid-2014. The company already had Chromecast, its own dongle-based devices for TV, which allows users to stream content from the internet using smartphones, tablets, and computers-all while running Google Chrome and using the browser as a remote control. ^(85){ }^{85} The set-top box introduction was Google’s attempt to gain a larger slice of the growing TV-streaming pie for which it competed with Apple and Amazon. 为了进一步与苹果和亚马逊竞争，谷歌于 2014 年年中推出了自己的电视机顶盒。该公司已经拥有 Chromecast，这是它自己的基于加密狗的电视设备，它允许用户使用智能手机、平板电脑和计算机从互联网流式传输内容——所有这些都在运行 Google Chrome 并将浏览器用作遥控器时。 ^(85){ }^{85} 机顶盒的推出是谷歌试图在与苹果和亚马逊竞争的不断增长的电视流媒体蛋糕中获得更大的份额。
Finally, Google has signaled an ambition far beyond that of search engines, operating systems, cloud computing, mobile devices, and so forth. The company appears to be positioning itself to not only offer its current plethora of services, but also to have a major role in how those services are delivered through Google Fiber and its push to sell wireless service direct to consumers. Google Fi is the company’s attempt to provide fast, cost-effective internet services and circumvent the traditional broadband providers. By rolling out high-speed internet services to the geographic areas that most demand it, the company is redefining how broadband internet services are offered. Traditionally, rollouts were completed by the likes of AT&T or Comcast by blanketing entire cities, not just distinct geographic areas where demand for such infrastructure was highest. ^(86){ }^{86} In the area of wireless, Google has struck deals with Sprint and T-Mobile to resell service on their networks, allowing the company to push wireless service under its own name. In addition, using proprietary technology, Google Fi stitches together free broadband wireless connection by leveraging complementary hotspots offered in places such as Starbucks and elsewhere. Google Fi is likely to not only improve speeds but also lead to price cuts in an industry that is already experiencing tremendous downward pressures on prices. ^(87){ }^{87} 最后，Google 已经发出了远远超出搜索引擎、操作系统、云计算、移动设备等的雄心壮志。该公司似乎将自己定位为不仅提供当前过多的服务，而且还在如何通过 Google Fiber 提供这些服务以及推动直接向消费者销售无线服务方面发挥重要作用。Google Fi 是该公司试图提供快速、经济高效的互联网服务并绕过传统宽带提供商的尝试。通过将高速互联网服务推广到最需要它的地理区域，该公司正在重新定义宽带互联网服务的提供方式。传统上，部署是由AT&T或Comcast等公司通过覆盖整个城市完成的，而不仅仅是对此类基础设施需求最高的特定地理区域。 ^(86){ }^{86} 在无线领域，谷歌已经与 Sprint 和 T-Mobile 达成协议，在他们的网络上转售服务，允许该公司以自己的名义推广无线服务。此外，Google Fi 使用专有技术，通过利用星巴克等地方提供的互补热点，将免费宽带无线连接拼接在一起。Google Fi 不仅可能提高速度，还可能导致一个已经面临巨大价格下行压力的行业降价。 ^(87){ }^{87}
ALIBABA 阿里巴巴
The Alibaba Group is China’s largest e-commerce company, and one of the largest tech companies globally. ^(88){ }^{88} In particular, Alibaba is a family of e-commerce businesses, which The Wall Street Journal described as "comparable to eBay, Amazon, and PayPal all rolled into one, with a stake in Twitter-like Weibo thrown in to boot."89 Alibaba’s main trading platforms are Taobao and Tmall, which handle more transactions each year than Amazon and eBay combined. ^(90){ }^{90} 阿里巴巴集团是中国最大的电子商务公司，也是全球最大的科技公司之一。 ^(88){ }^{88} 特别是，阿里巴巴是一个电子商务企业家族，《华尔街日报》将其描述为“可与 eBay、亚马逊和 PayPal 合二为一，并在类似 Twitter 的微博中占有一席之地。89 阿里巴巴的主要交易平台是淘宝和天猫，它们每年处理的交易比亚马逊和 eBay 的总和还要多。 ^(90){ }^{90}
Alibaba was founded by Jack Ma, an English teacher in the city of Hangzhou (in close proximity to Shanghai), and struggled to gain traction and the attention of investors in its early days. ^(91)^(92){ }^{91}{ }^{92} Since then, the company has gone on to dominate Chinese e-commerce with more than 600 million subscribers, more than 80%80 \% share of the country’s e-commerce market, and annual transactions to the tune of half a billion dollars. Despite all its success in China, the company is still largely unknown in the Western world. Its market leadership is intrinsically tied to the portal’s success in breaking through the myriad of barriers that exist in China when it comes to trade and establishing a platform where buyers and sellers can confidently and efficiently transact. ^(93){ }^{93} For example, Alibaba was able to overcome China’s low-trust business environment by introducing a set of country-specific innovations. As an example, Alipay, Alibaba’s online payment platform, holds a buyer’s payment in escrow until the buyer indicates satisfaction with the merchandise received. 阿里巴巴由杭州市（靠近上海）的英语教师 Jack 马创立，早期努力获得投资者的关注和关注。 ^(91)^(92){ }^{91}{ }^{92} 从那时起，该公司继续主导中国电子商务，拥有超过 6 亿用户，超过 80%80 \% 中国电子商务市场的份额，年交易量达五亿美元。尽管它在中国取得了成功，但该公司在西方世界仍然不为人知。其市场领导地位与该门户成功突破中国存在的无数贸易壁垒以及建立买家和卖家可以自信和高效交易的平台有着内在的联系。 ^(93){ }^{93} 例如，阿里巴巴通过引入一系列针对特定国家/地区的创新技术，克服了中国低信任度的商业环境。例如，阿里巴巴的在线支付平台支付宝将买家的付款托管，直到买家对收到的商品表示满意。
On September 19, 2014, Alibaba went public on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). It had the most successful initial public offering ever, surpassing a stock market valuation of over $230\$ 230 billion on its first day of trading. By summer 2017, Alibaba’s market cap stands at a record high of $320\$ 320 billion by summer 2017, making it one of the most valuable tech companies globally. In comparison, Amazon’s market cap was some $465\$ 465 billion at the same time. In 2017, Alibaba employed around 50,000 people, had $23\$ 23 billion in revenues, and remained highly profitable, capturing more than 50 percent of its revenues as profits. In the same year, Alibaba’s marketplaces in China reported sales of some $550\$ 550 billion. 2014 年 9 月 19 日，阿里巴巴在纽约证券交易所 （NYSE） 上市。它进行了有史以来最成功的首次公开募股，在交易的第一天就超过了 $230\$ 230