Proceedings of Business and Economic Studies

Research Article

The Research of the Localization Marketing Strategy

of Amazon in Germany
Xixi Zhu1, Yingxin Wu2, Wanting He1, Lianghui Zhao1
1
School of Economics and Management, Wuyi University, Jiangmen 529020, Guangdong Province, China
2
Hochschule Anhalt, Bernburg, Saxony-Anhalt 06406, Germany

Abstract: Amazon Germany has formulated a series So far, German Amazon has been the leader among
of marketing strategies based on the shopping habits all e-commerce platforms in Germany because of
of German consumers and it has achieved success. the competitive marketing strategy. This article
This article summarizes the current marketing summarizes the marketing strategies of Amazon in
strategies of Amazon in Germany, and explores the Germany and compares other e-commerce platforms
key factors for the success of this marketing strategy. to analyze the key factors and shortcomings of
By comparing with other e-commerce platforms, Amazon's success in the German market.
this article critically analyzes the innovation and Amazon was founded in 1995 and is headquartered
deficiency of Amazon in Germany. in Seattle, USA. The CEO is Jeff Bezos. In 1997,
Amazon went public in the United States, and now
Keywords: Amazon in Germany; Localization;
it has developed into the world's most influential
Marketing strategy
online retailer with multiple categories such as books,
Publication date: December, 2020 audio and video, home appliances, clothes and shoes,
Publication online: 30 December, 2020 jewelry, home kitchens, and outdoor sports. The
*
Corresponding author: Xixi Zhu, 13189851987 predecessor of German Amazon was the German
@163.com online bookstore TELEBOOK which was acquired
by Amazon in 1998 and now turns into Germany's
1 Introduction largest e-commerce platform.
Germany play an important role in the development
2 The marketing strategy of Amazon Germ-
of e-commerce in Europe. In 2019, German
any
consumers spent a total of 68.41 billion euros on
German e-commerce platforms, with 52 million Amazon Germany has positioned itself clearly in the
online consumers and Amazon is their favorite market expansion process while
e-commerce platform in Germany. According to formulated of a series of marketing strategies
"Digital Shopping Index" released by EY-Parthenon, for German market and gradually expanding sales
Amazon and eBay Classifieds account for 66% of the channels and occupying more market shares. Amazon
German e-commerce market share and they are ahead Germany advocates a consumer-centric service
of all other major e-commerce platforms in Germany. concept and formulates suitable German localized
In order to adapt to the consumption habits of marketing strategies based on the consumption habits
German residents and reduce the negative impact of German.
caused by cultural differences, Amazon has 2.1 Low price marketing strategy
implemented a series of localization measures in
terms of marketing strategy after entering the German Low-price marketing is a more advantageous
market. marketing method for e-commerce than physical

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stores. As one of the five largest e-commerce importance on the use of emails in its merchandising
platforms in the world, Amazon is more mature in strategy. German Amazon sellers send emails with all
the use of low-price strategies and the formulation the details of the product to the buyer as soon as the
of related requirements. Amazon Germany provides order is placed to ensure the consumer's satisfaction.
consumers with a full range of products, while After the product transaction is completed, the seller
giving consumers additional discounts and vouchers. sends an email requesting the consumer's experience
Consumers can buy products on Amazon at a lower with the product and comments to gain more user
price than other e-commerce platforms, which makes experience. Amazon merchants send emails to
consumers willing to spend more time browsing potential customers with discounted offers and offer
product information on the website. Amazon's promo codes to consumers when there are discounts
low-price promotion strategy has been favored by on products or during holiday sales.Because German
middle and low-end consumers. Regarding the price email marketing laws are very strict and in order to
fluctuation of the goods, Amazon Germany provides avoid the annoyance of too many emails to customers,
consumers with price-insurance measures. In a Amazon's customer propensity analysis system
promotion stage, if the price of the goods purchased provides consumers with the product information
by consumers fluctuates greatly, consumers can ask they need to avoid receiving too many emails.
the Amazon to refund the price difference to ensure 2.4 After-sales service marketing strategy
good consumers shopping experience in low-price
Amazon offers a consumer-centric service. Amazon
promotions. For the low-price promotion of products,
has strict requirements and severe penalties for
Amazon has strict regulations and management, and
sellers in terms of product quality, which has led to
provides channels for the shops to report malicious
a significant increase in consumer trust in the quality
low prices to prevent individual merchants from
of goods. Amazon Germany provides consumers
making extreme price reductions in order to attract
with a 30-day free return and exchange service and
views.
a comprehensive after-sales guarantee, perfectly
2.2 Holiday marketing strategy addressing consumers' fears and concerns during the
A consumer behaviour survey by the German Federal purchase process. These consumer-centric service
Association for E-Commerce, Mail Order and strategies have made Amazon Germany gain the
Creditreform Boniversum GmbH found that 30 % of favourite of consumers among many e-commerce
German consumers usually shop online on Saturdays platforms. Amazon Germany guarantees they can
and 61 % between 6 p.m. and midnight. There is a provide good quality of its products and services such
greater propensity and willingness to spend time on as comprehensive display of product information,
online shopping during weekends and festive holidays timely customer service communication, fast logistics
in Germany, when people get together with their delivery and good after-sales service, which can
families so Amazon Germany often offers discounts constantly improve consumer satisfaction. By its
on holidays in accordance with the spending habits own brand influence and good reputation, Amazon
of Germans on holidays. The general forms of Germany has made more consumers become
promotion during holidays include: loyal customers, increasing the product praise and
[1] Commodity discounts calculated as a fixed repurchase rate. Through its own brand influence and
amount or percentage good reputation, Amazon Germany has made more
[2] Free shipping for purchased goods experience consumers become loyal customers and
[3] Comes with a freebie increased the product praise and repurchase rate.
During the holiday promotion , the seller will
prepare sufficient goods to ensure supply capacity. In 3 Marketing innovation
the delivery, sellers pursue fast delivery and postage
in order to reduce delivery delays. 3.1 Marketing innovation based on consumer
demand
2.3 Email marketing strategy
German consumers have their own consumption
Germans use the mail a lo and they often use habits, they are concerned about product quality,
e-mail in daily life. Amazon Germany places great
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shopping experience and information transparency Amazon's technology is completely based on Linux.
. The Localization of product marketing means Amazon already has three of the world's largest Linux
promoting products according to the habits of databases with a total capacity of 7.8TB, 18.5TB and
consumers. Amazon Germany cost a lot of money 24.7TB. Amazon's central data warehouse consists of
in customer service, and each part of the transaction 28 servers, each node has 4 CPUs, running Oracle 9i
process has dedicated certain personnel for customer database software. Multiple functions can be realized
service to improve customer satisfaction. at the same time: query, record historical data, extract
Good customer service leads to communication data, convert data and load data. Amazon’s powerful
that leads to purchases and recommendations technical support can predict consumer behavior
of similar or better quality products. In terms based on constantly changing sales data, recommend
of information transparency, Amazon Germany products to consumers, and increase product sales.
encourages consumers to leave reviews, displaying
both positive and negative reviews. Potential 4 Shortcomings in the localization of
consumers can see real and valuable feedback, which marketing strategies
increases shopping satisfaction.
4.1 Insufficient marketing promotion
3.2 Marketing innovation based on the product
itself Amazon Germany's merchants offer a certain level of
special discounts to attract consumers during product
Amazon Germany offers consumers a wide variety promotions, which are advertised to consumers
of goods, including a variety of well-known brands. via email and web advertising. As a result of this
At the same time, Amazon sells its own products as approach, most potential consumers do not receive
well as those of third parties. In Germany, consumers the promotional information in time. Although
attach great importance to product quality, and promotional efforts are not a hype for the product, the
Amazon must guarantee the quality of the products information should be distributed on a wider range of
sold by third parties. In marketing innovation, a wide platforms. Posting product information and links to
range of products attracts more consumers to browse discounts on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, which
product information and the quality factor is key to are commonly used by Germans, would enhance the
gaining consumer trust. Product quality assurance effectiveness of marketing.
increases customer loyalty and is better promoted by
good reputation. In the shipping part, the Fulfillment 4.2 Incomplete marketing group
By Amazon model is an innovation from Amazon From the perspective of Amazon's marketing
Germany. Fulfillment By Amazon is a new sales products in Germany, it is mainly book promotion,
model in which German Amazon sellers can ship big brand digital product promotion and departmental
their products to the Amazon warehouse in advance, daily necessities promotion. This type of promotional
and the subsequent transaction and delivery process, products are mainly aimed at academics, students
including customer service, is completed by Amazon and young digital enthusiasts. The group of these
Germany, which avoids the loss of customers due to consumers does not represent the majority of
long logistics times. consumers, and students will be restricted by funds
3.3 Technology-based marketing innovation in purchasing goods. Amazon's promotional products
should include various categories, not just limited to
When you buy a product on Amazon in Germany, basic needs.
you will find that it can quickly know your needs and
recommend products that interest you. An Amazon 4.3 Insufficient marketing efforts
spokesperson said, "Our task is to please users and let The main promotional products on Amazon are
them discover wonderful products inadvertently. We big brand digital products and groceries. This type
believe that happiness will appear every day, and this of promotional product is aimed at academics,
is our measure of success." students and young digital enthusiasts, which are
When Amazon recommends products to not representative of the majority of consumers,
consumers, it is not unfounded. Amazon has a strong and students are subject to financial constraints in
business system and technical support. The core of purchasing goods. Amazon's promotional products
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should cover all categories and not be limited to basic above, we can know providing consumers with
needs. comprehensive and real data, ensuring the quality
4.4 Insufficient marketing logistics guarantee of third-party sellers' products and strong technical
support are indispensable elements of Amazon
Products sold on e-commerce platforms require third-
Germany's success.
party logistics. German Amazon chooses UPS and
DHL to deliver goods. Actually, the product delivered References
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