Zappos was a huge infusion of business DNA into Amazon, and from what I understand had a big influence on Amazon's customer service practices (Zappos was/is kno

Zappos was a huge infusion of business DNA into Amazon, and from what I understand had a big influence on Amazon's customer service practices (Zappos was/is known for being maniacally customer focused.) Another acquisition from around the same time was 'diapers.com'. That site is now defunct, and was never huge, but I believe they pioneered the concept of 'subscribing' to consumables like baby formula and, of course, diapers. After that acquisition, Amazon started doing the same with baby products, then their own brands, and now you can subscribe to just about any recurring purchase on the site. In these cases, I think the acquisitions provided much more than the economic value of the business. They infused Amazon with new strategies and ideas to make them, as you said, stronger _and more diverse._