nt Amazon is sending with the recent  launch of the  Singapore Cross-Border Brand Launchpad. Developed with Enterprise Singapore and the Singapore Business Federation, the program is aimed at helping over 100 local MSMEs to access export to the US market by 2025. According to Anand Palit, head of Amazon Global Selling in Southeast Asia, the program is designed to address key seller pain points when selling globally.  “Amidst the opportunities for growth through cross-border e-commerce, one of the main barriers faced by MSMEs is the lack of knowledge on e-commerce export business models, and digital skill sets to reach overseas customers,” he told Inside Retail. Localised knowledge Palit said that a series of knowledge sharing events with the Singapore Business Federation and Enterprise Singapore aims to close this knowledge gap, covering topics from US customer demand trends, to product and market research, to cross-border logistics and fulfilment preparation.  According to him, as of May 2023, sales from Singapore sellers on Amazon’s global stores have reached double-digit growth. Brands like Homemade Heroes, KeaBabies and Naoki Matcha are becoming best sellers on the platform. “We are inspired to see so many innovative products from Singapore brands and hope to support them, and together unveil a new chapter for their business and for cross-border e-commerce in Singapore,” he added. Global scale Palit said that the brand welcomes and encourages all types of companies and products that wish to scale globally through Amazon stores worldwide. He has seen Singaporean brands excel in nearly every category, from home goods to beauty and health and personal care. “The US marketplace represents a very large customer base, with over 126 million unique mobile visitors visiting Amazon stores each month. In each category, there are opportunities for brands to penetrate and offer unique offerings,” he stated. Palit said that before entering into a specific category, he recommends selling partners to conduct sufficient  research and evaluation to understand the potential opportunities and customer needs, as well as understand regulatory requirements overseas.  Empowering entrepreneurs In Singapore, the company focuses on supporting seller’s cross-border digital transformation journeys by incubating entrepreneurship and collaborating in training. There are more than 10 company ambassadors in Singapore that provide webinars and in-person training. “We are also rolling out more innovative tools and services to empower businesses at all stages of selling globally, especially tools and products that help sellers build, amplify and protect their own brand,” he explained. Palit said the company is also enhancing its local collaboration and support by expanding its account management teams based in Singapore to provide more dedicated guidance, while also exploring collaborations with government and industry partners to better support sellers.  “When developing an international business, it is important to understand customer demand, current customer sentiments and product trends. This can be costly and time consuming. We have a product research tool to identify opportunities to help sellers in this regard,” he said. This tool helps take the guesswork out of identifying which products to launch by providing sellers with rich insights into what customers are searching for, clicking on, and buying, as well as not buying.  “The tool helps sellers identify niches of emerging product opportunities by providing detailed data on search volume and growth, sales history, customer reviews, and pricing trends,” he elaborated. The e-commerce wave According to Palit, data shows that global e-commerce has been growing at an average rate of 12 per cent over the last few years, and cross-border B2C sales are expected to grow at a CAGR of nearly 28.4 per cent during the 2020 to 2027 period. “With e-commerce, the border between local consumers and global consumers has blurred – any brand can receive orders globally, and consumers can also shop from any brand globally. This is a global trend, and we can see this reflected similarly also in Singapore,” he stressed. Technological innovation and cross-border e-commerce have changed traditional business models, he said, and could give Singapore MSMEs a leg up on the competition. “For example, Hydragun, a Singaporean wellness brand that develops hand-held and knee massagers, invests in the R&D team, in order to improve the weight and quietness of their massager,” he stated. Ultimately, there is also strong support from the public sector and industry associations to aid local enterprises. Palit said this has contributed to Singapore brands punching above their weight, to become best sellers on Amazon stores across multiple categories. Q2 performance In a related development, Amazon recently announced its financial results for its second quarter ended June 30. Net sales increased 11 per cent to $134.4 billion in the second quarter, compared with $121.2 billion in Q2 last year. Operating income increased to $7.7 billion, compared with $3.3 billion in the previous Q2. Net income was $6.7 billion, or $0.65 per diluted share, compared with a net loss of $2.0 billion, or $0.20 per diluted share, in the previous Q2. Operating cash flow increased 74 per cent to $61.8 billion for the trailing twelve months, compared with $35.6 billion for the trailing twelve months ended June 30, 2022. Andy Jassy, Amazon’s CEO, was quoted as saying that it was another strong quarter of progress for the company. The company continued to lower its costs to serve in its fulfilment network, while providing customers with the fastest delivery speeds ever recorded. Apart from a slew of generative AI releases for its AWS customers, the company also continues to see strong demand for its advertising services.  Demand for advertising and the creation of interactive experiences during programs like Thursday Night Football continues to be significant.