Category: Amazon

2023 Amazon Small Business Empowerment Report – Growth for Sellers

Posted on May 27, 2023 (Updated July 13, 2023) by - Amazon

Amazon small business empowerment report

Amazon has published its annual U.S. Amazon Small Business Empowerment Report, highlighting the company’s commitment to supporting small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) through investments, innovations, and strategic initiatives. In addition, the report showcases how Amazon’s collaboration with independent sellers has led to increased product sales, job creation, and expanded global reach.   Currently, more than 60% of sales on Amazon’s platform come from independent sellers, predominantly SMBs, conveniently providing consumers with an extensive range of products at competitive prices. This data highlights the enduring partnership between SMBs and Amazon, illustrating the resilience of entrepreneurs who thrive despite challenging economic conditions.  Remarkable Growth  According to the Amazon Small Business Empowerment Report, independent sellers on Amazon’s U.S. platform achieved remarkable growth in 2022,… Read more »

Amazon Business: A $35-Billion Opportunity for B2B Sellers

Posted on April 25, 2023 (Updated April 27, 2023) by - Amazon

Amazon Business B2B

With more than 300 million active customers, Amazon is one of the most powerful B2C marketplaces available to online sellers today. But what if you are an Amazon B2B seller? Is Amazon the right place to serve your B2B customers’ needs? Introducing Amazon Business Amazon Business is a specialised platform designed to cater to the specific needs of B2B sellers and buyers. With more than six million registered businesses using the platform, it is clear that Amazon Business has rapidly gained popularity among businesses of all sizes. Launched in 2015, Amazon Business is one of the fastest-growing ventures in Amazon’s history, reaching $35 billion in annualised sales in 2023. 4 Benefits for B2B Sellers on Amazon Business Amazon Business offers… Read more »

Amazon’s European Expansion Accelerator (EEA) Helps Retailers List and Sell Across UK and EU

Posted on April 19, 2023 by - Amazon

Amazon European Expansion

Amazon has launched a new program called the European Expansion Accelerator (EEA), which streamlines the process of selling across Amazon’s nine European sites. With just a few clicks, sellers can easily list their products in all of Amazon’s European and UK stores, providing customers with access to millions of products. The EEA is a free service accessible to all professional Amazon selling partners who already have a presence in at least one of Amazon’s European stores, including France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, Belgium, and the UK. Identify New Markets By connecting standalone Amazon tools, EEA eliminates the need for sellers to navigate different tools separately, reducing the time and effort required to expand their business. This streamlined… Read more »

Amazon Fights Back Against Counterfeit Products

Posted on April 6, 2023 by - Amazon

Amazon Counterfeit Products

Amazon has recently announced its latest advancements in counterfeit prevention for customers, brands, and selling partners with the publication of its third annual Brand Protection Report. This new report aims to further strengthen Amazon’s anti-counterfeit measures to provide a safer and more trustworthy shopping experience for all. Counterfeiting is a global problem that harms legitimate businesses and puts consumers at risk. According to the International Chamber of Commerce, the global economic value of counterfeiting and piracy is estimated to cost $4.2 trillion. This is a significant threat to the economy, jobs, and public health and safety. Amazon Brand Protection Report The Amazon Brand Protection Report focuses on four key areas: Increasingly Deterring Bad Actors: Amazon’s robust seller verification, including connecting… Read more »

Is Amazon Clamping Down on Returns?

Posted on March 29, 2023 (Updated April 20, 2023) by - Amazon

amazon returns

Amazon has started flagging up “frequently returned” products on its marketplace. The label is being rolled out to encourage consumers to carefully check item descriptions and product reviews before purchasing. In addition to reducing returns, the move will help consumers identify misleading product descriptions and poor-quality products. Amazon has a solid reputation for its free and no-quibble returns policy. However, in recent years, the eCommerce giant has also been fighting the scourge of fake reviews and counterfeit, low-quality, and deceptively marketed products. No matter how easy it is for consumers to return these products, it still represents a poor customer experience and accounts for significant costs and environmental impact. The Problem with Marketplace Buyers In many ways, Amazon is a… Read more »

Is Amazon Squeezing Its SMB Sellers Too Hard?

Posted on February 14, 2023 by - Amazon, eBay

amazon fees

In the 25+ years I’ve worked in the eCommerce industry, I’ve met many busy fools. In the past, many of these sellers were burned by careless spending on paid search campaigns, mistaking the massive sales volume and associated turnover it generated for profit. It wasn’t until the end of the year that they realised they had destroyed any margin they had in a product for the sake of vanity metrics. However, today’s sellers are much more likely to complain that they are “working for Jeff Bezos” rather than running their own independent businesses. So the news that Amazon’s average cut of each sale surpassed 50% in 2022 will come as no surprise to many sellers. Amazon’s Increasing Cost of Sale… Read more »

Amazon Prime Air Drone Delivery Takes To The Skies in California and Texas

Posted on January 4, 2023 by - Amazon

Nine years after Jeff Bezos first announced that Amazon would start fulfilling orders by drone, Prime Air has taken to the skies and delivered its first packages. While many people at the time (myself included) dismissed the idea as nothing more than a fantastic piece of PR. It just goes to show that you should never underestimate the determination of a man who turned an online bookstore based in his garage into a business currently valued at $875.5 billion. Amazon Drone Delivery Cautiously Takes Flight According to media reports, in the run-up to Christmas, Amazon dropped its first drone deliveries off in customers’ backyards in Lockeford, California and College Station, Texas. The packages were delivered using Amazon’s hexagonal MK27-2 delivery… Read more »

Amazon Bows to EU Pressure on Marketplace Seller Data and Access to Buy Box and Prime

Posted on December 21, 2022 by - Amazon

Amazon EU

The European Commission has announced that commitments made by Amazon, addressing its use of non-public seller data and possible bias relating to access to its Buy Box and Prime programme, are to be made legally binding under EU antitrust rules. According to a recent press release, the Commission found that Amazon’s reliance on marketplace sellers’ non-public business data to calibrate its retail decisions distorted fair competition on its platform and prevented effective competition. It also concluded that Amazon’s rules and criteria for the Buy Box and Prime unduly favour its own retail business and marketplace sellers that use Amazon’s logistics and delivery services. How Did Amazon Comply? In relation to the Commission’s concerns about the online marketplaces use of non-public… Read more »

Amazon Announces Steep Multi-Channel Fulfilment (MCF) Fee Increase

Posted on December 20, 2022 by - Amazon

Amazon MCF

For online retailers selling across multiple channels, including eBay, Amazon, BigCommerce, and Shopify, the opportunity to use a single third-party logistics (3PL) partner like Amazon’s Multi-Channel Fulfilment (MCF) makes perfect sense. At Frooition, we always remind sellers that they don’t make money stuffing envelopes. Because the cost of running a warehouse can be prohibitive, it’s nearly always better to entrust your fulfilment to a third-party operator who can take advantage of economies of scale. 3PL companies, including FBA, Orange Connex, and Huboo, can also help smooth out the challenges of selling across borders and managing returns. Amazon Multi-Channel Fulfilment (MCF) With its massive network of fulfilment centres and the opportunity to ship goods in unbranded packaging, Amazon’s MCF service is… Read more »

Amazon Supports Independent Sellers With Launch of Small Business Gift Finder

Posted on November 25, 2022 (Updated May 27, 2023) by - Amazon

Amazon Small Business

While Amazon might be the epitome of big business, more than half of all products purchased on its UK website are actually sold by small and independent businesses. To help consumers support the 85,000+ small businesses on the online marketplace, Amazon has recently launched its Small Business Gift Finder service. As well as supporting small and medium-sized businesses, the Small Business Gift Finder helps consumers “shop local” by highlighting retailers by region. Shoppers can also easily identify products sold by small business sellers across the online marketplace by looking out for the Small Business Badge. Small Business Growth According to data released by Amazon, small business sellers on Amazon have enjoyed considerable growth over the last 12-month period, selling more… Read more »