Sensorial’Org

All this said, Amazon is not a good model for other sites, because the pages are overwhelmingly complex with much too many features, many of which don’t help users in considering the current product.

Amazon can get away with this complexity because most users are familiar with its design because they shop there so often. But a first-time user would be baffled. Since most sites don’t have people who shop there as much as they do on Amazon, most sites need a simpler design.

See also: Interview with Web Usability Guru Jakob Nielsen and Amazon No Longer the Role Model for E-Commerce Design.