Amazon Business and GSA Advantage: A Comparative Analysis

Abstract

This project analyzes two e-commerce platforms commercially-available Amazon Business, and federally-managed GSA Advantage to assess the benefits and limitations of using the government purchase card (GPC) to buy from each platform. Spurred by the fact that senior acquisition leaders in the U.S. government are seeking ways to strategically manage their GPC spend, this research provides an unbiased look at these two popular e-commerce platforms. With comparisons based on prices, shipping costs, and shipping time, of commonly-purchased items, ease of use and customer satisfaction, and future improvement initiatives, we provide senior acquisition leaders the potential benefits, limitations, and risks of using Amazon Business and GSA Advantage for repetitive, GPC-based micro-purchases. We also provide ways each e-commerce platform can improve to meet the needs of its government users.