Amazon has revolutionized how people search for information and connect with each other online. It collects vast amounts of social data from customers' searches, purchases, locations and social connections. Amazon analyzes these social data to gain insights into customer needs and predict purchasing behaviors. It uses these insights to optimize its supply chain, tailor marketing and product recommendations to individuals, and improve the customer experience. Amazon's collection and use of social data has helped transform it from an online retailer to a model for customer-centric "WE-commerce."

1. Amaz(ing)on
social data revolution
Domenico Manna
Federica Nuzzi
Maria Vittoria Santamaria

2. From search to data
The Mountain View Company has revolutioned the
way people search and perceive information
Connecting pages1998
2004
Zuckenberg & co. have changed the way people think
and communicate their identity
Connecting people
2007
Jobs lauches iPhone: the app-era (an ecosystem of
closed worlds able to communicate) has started
Connecting apps
Now
Bezos goes beyond the traditional concept of
purchases
Connecting data

3. Defining social data
Social data refers to the collective information produced
by millions of people as they actively participate in online
social activities. It’s embedded in the relationships among
people.
Types of social data:
Geolocation Where did a customer
go?
Search history What did she search for?
Purchase history What did she buy?
Social graph Who are her friends?
Demographics and similar attributes

4. It’s all about social graph
The global mapping of everybody and how they are related
on the Internet
•We talk and share content that is relevant
to us
Content
•It’s the context that defines the value of
content and conversationsContext
•Connections define our identityConnection
•Conversations are marketsConversations
A social graph is defined by four dimensions:

5. The Amazon model
Amazon is considered as the symbol of a social
data company:
-
Customer
satifaction
Logistics
We-
commerce
“If you do build a great experience, customers tell each other about
that. Word of mouth is very powerful.” - Jeff Bezos

6. From e- to WE-commerce
 164 million customers worldwide. Every day
Amazon makes some products free to attract
new customers.
 Thanks to the Big Data and following a
bottom-up approach, every decision at Amazon
is driven by the customer’s needs.
 By recording and analyzing customer’s
searches, past purchases and geolocation,
Amazon generates accurate information and
hidden insights, and these data may lead to
more confident decision-making.
 Comparing one customer’s information with the
others allows the company to predict what
products the customer is likely to buy.
 With one-to-one marketing Amazon tailors the
content to the customer, helps him discover new
products and provides unique experiences.
“1993: On the Internet nobody knows you’re a dog.” - The New Yorker
2013: On the Internet everybody knows you’re a dog.

7. Data Kaizen
 Amazon leverages its social data advantage
to optimize its supply chain.
 It automatically chooses the cheapest origin
for the customer’s order in real-time: this
origin will be re-optimized depending on
other customers’ orders.
 Fast-moving items are stored in all the
FCs (fulfillment centers, now 50 in the
world).
Hard-to-find items are kept in small
quantities in one or two FCs.
Easily movable items are stored in highly
automated facilities.
 Drop shipping: when applicable, Amazon
provides packages and asks the supplier to
ship the product himself. Third-party sellers
follow the same principle, which increases
margins.
 On average, a product stays
o 70 days on Best Buy’s shelf
o 33 days on Amazon’s one

8. Customer Care
 Amazon has been collecting customers’
information for years - not just
addresses and payment information but
also the identity of everything we have
ever bought or even looked at - and it is
using that data to build a relationship.
Amazon uses these social data to:
Fix customers’ problems
Identify recurring issues
Track the behavior of merchants
 Amazon monitored each step of the
funnel carries to improve its conversion
rate; it benefits from a loyal customer
base: 2/3 of the sales come from
returning customers.

9.  http://www.fastcodesign.com/1669551/how-companies-
like-amazon-use-big-data-to-make-you-love-them
 http://www.weigend.com
 http://www.bigdata-startups.com/BigData-
startup/amazon-leveraging-big-data/