Amazon is often celebrated for its relentless innovation and dominance in e‑commerce, cloud computing, and logistics. Yet, behind the success stories of Prime, AWS, and Kindle, lies a trail of failed experiments. Jeff Bezos famously said, “If you think Amazon is a success, you’re looking at the wrong thing. We’re a company of failures.” These failures are not embarrassments but lessons that shaped Amazon’s resilience.
Below, we explore the 10 biggest failed projects by Amazon, why they failed, and what lessons they offer.
1. Fire Phone (2014)
- What it was: Amazon’s attempt to enter the smartphone market.
- Why it failed: High price, weak ecosystem, and gimmicky features like “Dynamic Perspective” that didn’t resonate.
- Impact: Cost Amazon nearly $170 million in losses.
- Lesson: Hardware success requires ecosystem and developer support, not just novelty.
2. Amazon Destinations (2015)
- What it was: A travel booking service to compete with Expedia and Booking.com..
- Why it failed: Limited inventory, poor marketing, and lack of differentiation.
- Impact: Shut down within six months.
- Lesson: Entering mature industries without a unique edge is a recipe for failure.
3. Amazon Wallet (2014)
- What it was: A mobile wallet app for storing gift and loyalty cards.
- Why it failed: No payment functionality, limited adoption, and competition from Apple Pay and Google Wallet.
- Impact: Pulled from app stores within months.
- Lesson: Consumers expect full functionality, not half‑solutions.
4. Amazon Local (2011–2015)
- What it was: A Groupon‑style daily deals platform.
- Why it failed: Oversaturated market, poor merchant relationships, and declining consumer interest in daily deals.
- Impact: Shut down after four years.
- Lesson: Copycat models rarely succeed without innovation.
5. Amazon Dash (2014–2020)
- What it was: Physical buttons for reordering household items.
- Why it failed: Clunky, limited to single products, and replaced by Alexa voice ordering.
- Impact: Discontinued in 2020.
- Lesson: Convenience must evolve with technology — voice and apps beat physical buttons.
6. Amazon Restaurants (2015–2019)
- What it was: Food delivery service competing with Uber Eats and DoorDash.
- Why it failed: Lack of scale, poor restaurant partnerships, and late entry into a crowded market.
- Impact: Shut down in 2019.
- Lesson: Logistics expertise doesn’t guarantee success in every vertical.
7. Amazon Spark (2017–2019)
- What it was: A social shopping feed similar to Instagram.
- Why it failed: Low engagement, confusing interface, and lack of influencer adoption.
- Impact: Discontinued after two years.
- Lesson: Social commerce requires community, not just product listings.
8. Amazon WebPay (2007–2014)
- What it was: A peer‑to‑peer payment system like PayPal.
- Why it failed: Limited adoption, lack of trust, and no clear advantage over competitors.
- Impact: Shut down in 2014.
- Lesson: Payments require scale, trust, and ubiquity.
9. Amazon Register (2014–2015)
- What it was: A mobile card reader to compete with Square.
- Why it failed: Weak marketing, late entry, and lack of merchant trust.
- Impact: Discontinued within a year.
- Lesson: Entering fintech requires credibility and strong merchant relationships.
10. Amazon TestDrive (2011–2015)
- What it was: A feature allowing users to try Android apps before downloading.
- Why it failed: Poor developer adoption, limited functionality, and competition from Google Play.
- Impact: Shut down in 2015.
- Lesson: Developer ecosystems thrive where users already are — Amazon couldn’t lure them away.
📉 Common Themes in Amazon’s Failures
- Late entry into crowded markets (Restaurants, Register).
- Poor differentiation (Local, Spark).
- Overestimating consumer interest in gimmicks (Fire Phone, Dash).
- Weak ecosystem support (Wallet, TestDrive).
🚀 Why These Failures Matter
Amazon’s failures highlight its risk‑taking culture. Each flop taught lessons that informed later successes:
- Fire Phone’s failure paved the way for Alexa and Echo.
- Dash’s demise led to smarter voice ordering.
- Spark’s lessons influenced Amazon’s influencer programs.
Conclusion
Amazon’s story is not just about success — it’s about embracing failure as part of innovation. These 10 failed projects cost billions, but they also shaped Amazon’s resilience and willingness to experiment. In Bezos’s words, “If you’re not failing, you’re not innovating enough.”
