Amazon at 30: What’s the Next Chapter?

In the summer of 1994, a job posting was shared on Usenet seeking software engineers for a company looking to revolutionize commerce on the internet. The company wanted engineers who could design complex systems in record time. Résumés were to be submitted to Jeff Bezos at a Seattle-based startup initially named Cadabra. However, due to its similarity to the word “cadaver”, the company was later renamed to Amazon.

Since its establishment 30 years ago on July 5th, Amazon has become a dominant force in the world of online shopping. It is estimated that this year Amazon’s websites will sell $554 billion worth of goods in America, which is a significant portion of the country’s e-commerce market share. In fact, Amazon’s e-commerce market share of 42% far surpasses its closest competitor Walmart, which holds only a 6% share online (although is the largest retailer overall).