The test page, available to some, but not all site visitors Wednesday, signals that the tab design is reaching capacity as Amazon continues adding merchandise categories, retailing concepts and marketing partnerships, chief executive Jeff Bezos said. The answer was in response to a security analyst's question on the quarterly conference call discussing company earnings.
The company also wants to increase customers' purchases in additional categories, Bezos said. For example, buyers of established categories such as books, music and videos would be encouraged to add purchases of newer merchandise such as electronics, toys and hardware.
This is a much cheaper and more profitable way of increasing sales than attracting new customers through advertising and discount promotions. Amazon dominates the booming field of online retailing, but is eager to assuage investors and analysts concerned that its high costs for superior customer service and expansion of warehouse capacity mean mounting net losses.
The company reported Wednesday that sales grew to US$676 million in 1999's fourth quarter, a 176 percent increase from a year earlier. However, operating losses not counting acquisitions ballooned to US$175 million from US$18 million.
Amazon does such design testing routinely, Bezos said.
