From TJ McCue:
Facebook, Google and their head-to-head battle in the social and search markets get the lion’s share of the business media attention these days. Apple gets a huge share simply due to its elegant and highly functional devices. But Amazon.com has been quietly moving along in ways that have escaped major attention.
Amazon arguably has the world’s most powerful consumer transaction engine. Combine that with their Web services—cloud computing storage to name just one—and this new push into devices, and you see a distribution and marketing opportunity in the form of the new Amazon App Store for Android.
Here’s what it means for your small business.
1. Cross-selling. Amazon is the world’s biggest retail store. Is there a way you can leverage the Kindle Fire tablet? If you’re selling an app, you would have an opportunity to get in front of people buying books and other items. Amazon is famous for its recommendation engine and it can only be expected, with the launch of the Kindle Fire, that we’ll see more offers that cross-sell Android-powered apps. If you are creating an app, look for books that will complement your app. If you’re selling a book or a product, see if there are apps that go with it. Over time, those recommendations will appear from Amazon’s technology.
2. You’ll be able to purchase apps with your regular Amazon user ID for a seamless checkout process. Even if you are not selling an app, but offer a free one, the Amazon consumer community may be a place to get your app loaded. If you’re building apps for just the iOS platform (iPhone, iPod, iPad), hopefully you are using a software development kit (SDK) platform like Corona which allows you to port your work from iOS to Android and vice versa. While I’m a fan of how elegant iTunes App Store operates and the Android Market from Google and its early lead, I think you’ll want to consider the Amazon App Store, too. This is the way to instantly tap into the rapidly growing mobile marketplace via the behemoth of online selling.
3. For applications that charge a fee, adoption is almost always lower in other marketplaces, especially compared to the free apps one can easily download. However, Amazon built a Test Drive tool so that you can see and feel what the app will work like. This will increase adoption for those fee-based apps that might sell less well on other platforms. I can only presume that Amazon’s detailed knowledge of their customer base drove the decision to create this functionality. Bottom line, they remove concerns about “is this app for me?” and help a customer make a worry-free decision. Ironically, when I tried to test the Test Drive app, it did not work in the Chrome browser. It worked in Firefox.
Important note: Amazon reserves the right to price your app. That may seem like a loss of control, but my view is it could be a good thing. After all, they see the transaction history of every app and know what's selling at what price point. They have a clause that says they can mark your app down to free, but if you have a list price for it, you'll receive 20 percent of that price even if Amazon sells it for free. The volume alone could make it up for the reduction in profit. Here is the Amazon developer page.
I’m not taking shots at Facebook, Apple or Google with this post. They each have their market position. I’m simply pointing out that Amazon has been targeting and serving the typical consumer transactions more successfully than the others. I realize it is a complicated situation and one that we don’t have time to fully explore here, but Amazon’s move into the app marketplace gives it a new foothold that will have implications and opportunities for small business owners who are using the Amazon platform. Kindle Fire is only one piece of this tectonic shift.
Two final resources: FrugalDad.com created an amazing infographic about Amazon and their success. It is worth a quick look. If you are a bit techy and want your Kindle Fire to do a bit more than the usual, you’ll want to read these instructions for how to “root” your device and increase its functionality. Read: How to Sideload Apps (even the Android Market) on the Amazon Kindle Fire.
Image Credit: Tsahi Levent-Levi
Source: http://www.openforum.com/articles/3-reasons-to-study-the-amazon-app-store
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