In a recent Product Initiative newsletter, I shared this tweet to mull over: 

It spoke to me because I love how seamless Apple’s products and service are. And Amazon drives me mad with it’s clutter, even though I use it almost every day. 

Gaurav Sachdeva, chief product officer at Singapore Press Holdings, recently told me he had also been thinking about this tweet and why it didn’t sit well with him. It’s because at Amazon, design absolutely matters. Although I would say that their design is messy — and the tweet suggests that Amazon does not prioritise design — that’s not the point. 

As Gaurav pointed out to me, Amazon designs to maximize sales. They pioneered the “one click buy.” And their check-out is so seamless that it makes it easy — too easy! — to buy on its site. Which is the goal. I am a single data point of proof: As I said, I use it almost every day.

Amazon has designed to meet its goals. And this is one of the key reasons the company has become a market leader. Amazon is ruthless on working towards specific goals, and it shows.

Do you have a product achievement to share? 

Or maybe a lesson? We’d love to hear from you! The Product Initiative blog is now taking contributions from our community. For more, contact me on Slack or at jodie.hopperton@inma.org. 

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