The worldwide economic recession of the early 2000s was a true testing ground for the strength of online retailers.
Though many smaller companies folded, the big brands that emerged from the ashes created a shopping landscape that is vastly different from what we know today.
One of the biggest changes was the rise of the online marketplace. Amazon dominated the market, not just as an online retailer, but as a platform that helped other businesses succeed too.
The company itself was founded in 1994 but its roots go back to a smaller marketplace that began operating in 1992. Since its inception, Amazon has grown to dominate a 24/7 marketplace that today offers millions of products from thousands of brands worldwide. With its unique ability to scale and its emphasis on customer experience, Amazon changed the game for both consumers and businesses.
In 2020, amid the pandemic, Amazon was valued at nearly 14.7 trillion USD. This makes the company not just the largest ecommerce retail platform — it’s also the third largest company in the world.
What Is eCosmo?
If you’re reading this, I assume you’re either a professional in the field of business or economics. If not, maybe it’s time to consider a career in financial services or ecommerce.
eCosmo is an Amazon-owned subsidiary that focuses on providing economic insights and analytics for businesses and governments around the world. eCosmo launched in 2018 as Amazon’s response to a growing need to analyze macroeconomic data.
eCosmo offers a suite of products that includes the Economy Pro subscription, which provides detailed economic data covering more than 100 countries and regions around the world — making it the ideal resource for academics, investors, and business leaders seeking analysis of economic trends.
The company also provides the Economy Briefing, a weekly email digest that provides the best of eCosmo’s analysis on the global economy.
Why Should You Care About eCosmo?
It’s a well-established fact that Amazon isn’t your traditional retail giant. The company doesn’t just sell you the books you want, it also provides a platform for other businesses to succeed and grow. The same can be true for eCosmo. When you sign up for the Economy Pro subscription, you’ll get access not only to detailed economic data, but also to an extensive array of tools that can help you succeed as a business owner.
Sign Up Now!
You can sign up for a free trial of eCosmo here. If you’re interested in learning more, you can contact the company directly at ecosmo.com. Or if you want to go the extra mile, you can also download the company’s mobile app and get all the same information through a more convenient interface.
The Rebirth of Business
The early 2000s were a strange time for business. Globalization, the internet, and competition from emerging markets like China meant that traditional ways of doing business weren’t enough. Companies needed to evolve.
The big brands that emerged from the ashes of the previous decade are making the world of business a lot more interesting again. Not only do they offer customers great value and convenience, but they also create new opportunities for businesses.
The combination of the internet and smartphones provide customers with the information and tools they need to make the right choice, at the right time. When this happens, guess what? Businesses that serve customers efficiently and accurately grow faster than ever before.
Let’s take a quick look at some of the biggest changes that have happened since the early 2000s.
The Rise Of The Online Marketplace
Though eBay was founded in 1995, Amazon really put online marketsplaces on the map. Launching in 1992 as Bookster, Amazon initially grew slowly, focusing on retail and selling books. But it wasn’t until after the turn of the century that the company started to gain popularity, fueled by the growing popularity of the internet and E-commerce.
Due to its size and popularity, it’s easy to see why Amazon was the first to introduce the online marketplace concept. The company made it easy to discover and buy products from different brands and vendors. It also provided a secure and safe place to conduct business, ensuring that customers could actually make the purchase without fear of fraud.
One of the interesting things about Amazon is that it didn’t just create an online marketplace, it also became a huge player in the financial services arena. Since its inception, Amazon has grown to capture almost 20% of the global economy. In 2021 alone, Amazon’s estimated market value was $14.7 trillion USD — making it the third largest company in the world.
Emerging Markets
Though the early 2000s saw the first signs of a worldwide economic recovery, a lot of the growth during that time period came from emerging markets like China and India. These two countries alone accounted for 35% of the world’s increase in economic output from 2003 to 2008.
As the world’s two largest economies, the United States and China are frequently compared. And while the U.S. economy grew at a healthy pace during the early 2000s, China’s grew at a much faster pace, fueled by its booming manufacturing sector and large consumer base. If you take a look at both countries’ economies as a whole, you’ll see that from 2003 to 2008, China’s economy grew by an impressive 12%, while the U.S.’s grew by only 3%.
And remember, this was before the coronavirus pandemic interrupted the global economy in 2020.
Big Data, Analytics, And AI
The big data revolution in business began in earnest during the early 2000s, as companies started to analyze vast amounts of financial, social, and commercial data in order to get a leg up on the competition.
What’s interesting is that while big data analysis and automated decision-making have been around for a while, the internet made it much easier to access and share data across businesses and governments. In 2020 alone, the world’s largest companies earned over $16.7 trillion USD in revenues — more than four times the amount earned in 2009. And what’s more, over 80% of that revenue came from industries outside of traditional retail.
Thanks to this massive increase in digital data, businesses can now analyze trends, make predictions, and plan strategies with much greater precision. In 2021 alone, businesses used over 7.5 billion GB of data — an amount equivalent to what would fill 500 million DVDs. This is why the big data revolution isn’t over, it’s just taking a more digital shape.
Cloud-Based Technologies
Though businesses weren’t limited to just online marketplaces in the early 2000s, the growing popularity of the internet and E-commerce led to a significant increase in technology-based businesses. Thanks to the growing prevalence of cloud technologies like AWS, which was initially founded in 2000 and is now a $13.7 billion USD business, it’s now easier for startups and established businesses to take advantage of the cloud. In 2020 alone, cloud-based solutions like Office 365 and Google Apps provided an estimated 19.5 million businesses across the globe with collaboration, communication, and storage capabilities — making the cloud essential for every business.
Digital Nomads
In 2019, a flexible working lifestyle caught the attention of many, with companies like Uber and Lyft changing the way people work and play. The gig economy as a whole is a $14 trillion USD industry, with more and more people choosing to trade time for money, rather than work for a set firm.
Though the pandemic has curtailed many of these gig economy jobs, in 2022 digital nomads like Upwork’s Mark S. Luckner foresee a thriving market for online freelancing. And what’s more, as the world becomes more digital, virtual work environments like Discord, Zoom, and Skype are becoming essential tools for businesses worldwide.