How brands and retailers are taking advantage of the Amazon opportunity

Amazon has become one of the go-to online shopping resources for millions of consumers around the world. And for many brands and retailers, it can be an ideal channel for succeeding at cross-border trade. 

The vast reach of this global marketplace is opening numerous doors for sellers looking to increase sales and generate more revenue.

Why sell internationally on Amazon?

With more than 300 million global customers across 18 regions, Amazon’s international marketplaces provide tremendous opportunities for brands and retailers to fuel e-commerce growth.

In the UK, for example, surveys have long shown that nearly 90% of shoppers use Amazon UK – and that the marketplace dominates 30% of the nation’s e-commerce. In Germany, an estimated 27% of the country’s e-commerce is generated on Amazon. It ranks among Japan’s top three marketplaces, and saw sales increase a staggering 1500% in Australia within just two years. Meanwhile, across Europe, sales on Amazon marketplaces are currently up 57% year-on-year. 

And that’s just for starters.

In the US, where Amazon was founded, the marketplace dominates 47% of all online sales – a number that’s expected to increase. According to a recent ChannelAdvisor survey, more than half of US consumers begin their product searches on Amazon and 53% plan to increase the amount of shopping they do online.

Based on these numbers alone, many sellers are discovering that Amazon presents an excellent avenue to increase sales via cross-border trade.

Tips for successful international sales on Amazon

While there are numerous opportunities for boosting sales and revenue, success on Amazon does require more than simply listing products. Based on ChannelAdvisor’s work with thousands of brands and retailers, there are several tips that can help support this channel’s potentially profitable role in cross-border trade.

First, it’s important to ensure the content used for each product listing is fully optimised. Amazon consumers spend a good deal of time researching products, and will respond well to detailed information. In addition to correct translations, each listing should include accurate product titles, detailed descriptions, informative bullet points and compelling photos.

Second, an important factor is effective advertising. In a highly competitive market – one where most sales come from the top of search results – Amazon Advertising can be an essential component for success. Having the right mix of Sponsored Products, Product Display Ads, Sponsored Brand Videos, and other types of promotions can help increase product visibility to purchase-ready shoppers.

For example, when Jerry’s Artarama, an art supply retailer, fine-tuned its Amazon Advertising campaigns, business nearly tripled. “We had more than 20,000 Amazon orders in the first two weeks of April alone — crushing the 7,091 we saw during the entire December peak holiday shopping season,” said E-commerce Marketplace Specialist, Dan Stawicki.

This strategy can be especially helpful in the US. Recent research from Insider Intelligence shows that US consumers are comfortable with the ad experience on Amazon, even as sponsored listings continue to dominate the first search results page. 

Lastly, make sure you have the right technology in place. Specialised technology can help simplify the process of optimising listings, managing advertising, automating orders and more. For this reason, many brands and retailers are upgrading their e-commerce platforms and working with e-commerce consultants so they can launch on new Amazon marketplaces quickly. In fact, ChannelAdvisor has seen brands and retailers increase year-on-year revenue by 72% by doing just that.

It may sound like a big undertaking at the outset. But using Amazon to reach international audiences can help position brands and retailers for cross-border success.