Zappos’ initial experiment provided a clear, quantifiable outcome: either a sufficient number of customers would buy the shoes or they would not. It also put the company in a position to observe, interact with, and learn from real customers and partners. This qualitative learning is a necessary companion to quantitative testing. Although the early efforts were decidedly small-scale, that did not prevent the huge Zappos vision from being realized. In fact, in 2009 Zappos was acquired by the e-commerce giant Amazon.com for a reported $1.2 billion.2
