????如果確實(shí)存在企業(yè)基因這種東西，那么過(guò)去10年間全球最成功的科技公司之所以能夠崛起，一定是拜企業(yè)基因所賜。谷歌（Google）執(zhí)著地關(guān)注數(shù)據(jù)；而蘋(píng)果（Apple）則對(duì)簡(jiǎn)約的風(fēng)格有著一種參禪一般的著迷；Facebook的特點(diǎn)是匯聚遍布全球的社會(huì)關(guān)系；亞馬遜（Amazon）的特點(diǎn)更為簡(jiǎn)單實(shí)際，那就是：節(jié)儉。

????這家總部位于西雅圖的在線書(shū)店成功轉(zhuǎn)型為電子商務(wù)巨人靠的是節(jié)儉的理念，它體現(xiàn)在運(yùn)營(yíng)、品牌定位、以及Kindle Fire平板電腦等新產(chǎn)品等各個(gè)方面?！敖档统杀臼莵嗰R遜成功的基石，”晨星公司（Morningstar）股票研究總監(jiān)RJ?賀托維表示。亞馬遜無(wú)需承擔(dān)維護(hù)實(shí)體店所需的巨額成本，所以它能以低價(jià)向客戶(hù)提供同樣的商品。

????總部位于芝加哥的投資銀行William Blair & Company公司的數(shù)據(jù)顯示，與在線和實(shí)體競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手相比，亞馬遜銷(xiāo)售的產(chǎn)品價(jià)格最多可低上13%。目前，該公司擁有1.6億名活躍用戶(hù)，銷(xiāo)售額占美國(guó)在線零售總額的20%。分析師們預(yù)計(jì)其銷(xiāo)售還會(huì)進(jìn)一步增長(zhǎng)，年客戶(hù)增長(zhǎng)率將達(dá)到20%。在線零售業(yè)務(wù)目前總體而言占美國(guó)商品銷(xiāo)售總額的10%，預(yù)計(jì)這一份額還會(huì)繼續(xù)呈現(xiàn)增長(zhǎng)之勢(shì)，盡管有些分析師估計(jì)其年增長(zhǎng)速度或許只有1%左右。市場(chǎng)研究機(jī)構(gòu)弗林斯特研究公司（Forrester Research）預(yù)計(jì)，今年，美國(guó)在線零售總額將超過(guò)2,260億美元。

????上述數(shù)據(jù)形成了亞馬遜在消費(fèi)者心中的品牌形象。亞馬遜正在對(duì)競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手構(gòu)成越來(lái)越強(qiáng)勁的挑戰(zhàn)。比如，零售商電路城（Circuit City）和博德思（Borders）的倒閉多少與亞馬遜的崛起有些關(guān)系。

????去年，該公司的市場(chǎng)策略更加咄咄逼人。去年12月的某個(gè)周六，亞馬遜向買(mǎi)家提供了極為誘人的優(yōu)惠價(jià)格。用戶(hù)如果使用該網(wǎng)站提供的免費(fèi)“價(jià)格查詢(xún)”手機(jī)應(yīng)用，將實(shí)體店物品價(jià)格與亞馬遜價(jià)格進(jìn)行比較，在購(gòu)買(mǎi)該產(chǎn)品時(shí)即可獲得5%的價(jià)格優(yōu)惠。（每件商品的最大折扣為5美元。）據(jù)報(bào)道，僅僅在亞馬遜公布該優(yōu)惠政策的那一個(gè)周末，“價(jià)格查詢(xún)”應(yīng)用的使用量翻了3倍，但同時(shí)也引發(fā)了媒體連篇累牘的聲討?！都~約時(shí)報(bào)》（New York Times）就刊發(fā)社論，指責(zé)這種促銷(xiāo)戰(zhàn)術(shù)無(wú)異于“焦土資本主義”（scorched-earth capitalism）。亞馬遜反駁說(shuō)：“推出‘價(jià)格查詢(xún)’應(yīng)用的目的在于讓用戶(hù)能像在互聯(lián)網(wǎng)上一樣方便地獲取產(chǎn)品信息、定價(jià)信息、以及客戶(hù)評(píng)論等信息?！?/p>

????If such a thing as corporate DNA exists, it has animated the rise of the last decade's most successful technology companies. Google had a relentless focus on data, Apple a Zen-like obsession with simplicity, and Facebook a world of social connections to mine. Amazon has relied on an altogether more prosaic trait: thriftiness.

????The Seattle-based online book store transformed itself into an e-commerce giant by developing a gospel of saving that informs everything from its operations to its brand identity and new products like the Kindle Fire tablet. "Cost-cutting is the corner-stone of Amazon (AMZN)," says RJ Hottovy, director of equity research at Morningstar (MORN). Because the firm doesn't suffer the costs of maintaining real-world stores, it has been able to charge consumers less.

????According to the Chicago-based investment banking firm William Blair & Company, the prices of goods sold by Amazon are up to 13% lower than its online and brick and mortar competitors. With more than 160 million active users, the company currently accounts for 20% of all U.S. online retail sales. Analysts expect it to grow further, picking up new customers at a clip of 20% year-over-year. Meanwhile, overall online retail, which accounts for 10% of all U.S. sales is expected to also grow, albeit more slowly at approximately 1% a year by some estimates. Online retail is expected to be worth some $226 billion this year, according to Forrester Research (FORR).

????That has shaped the firm's brand in the minds of consumers. To competitors, Amazon has increasingly become a challenger, and in some cases like the defunct Circuit City and Borders, played a hand however small in their doom.

????In the last year, the company has become even more aggressive. One Saturday last December, it made shoppers a compelling offer. Those who used its free Price Check mobile app to compare the price of an item at a physical store with Amazon.com's price received 5% off the same product. (The maximum discount was $5 for each item.) This reportedly tripled usage of the Price Check app that particular weekend but also generated heavy criticism, with one New York Times op-ed describing the tactic as "scorched-earth capitalism." The company countered that, "the goal of the Price Check app is to make it as easy as possible for customers to access product information, pricing information and customer reviews, just as they would on the Web."