When Amazon convenes its virtual Amazon Accelerate event this week attracting over 25,000 entrepreneurs and brand owners, it will boast about its 2020 $18 billion investment to help independent businesses that sell to customers through its store. In addition the company expects to onboard 100,000 new sellers, building on the 500,000 U.S. based small and medium-sized businesses already in place.
Year to date Amazon’s support has introduced 135 free tools and services to help businesses expand their sales. Included in this initiative are online selling guidance, education, logistics and more.
“Amazon’s success is directly tied to the success of independent businesses across the U.S. We are passionate about supporting small businesses, investing and inventing on their behalf to help them be resilient through COVID-19 and beyond,” said Jeff Wilke, CEO Worldwide Consumer at Amazon at Accelerate. He opened the event with a fireside chat with Dharmesh Mehta, Vice President of Customer Trust & Partner Support at Amazon.
Amazon shared some key statistics that shows how intertwined it is with independent businesses across the U.S.
- Third-party sellers represent more than half of all units sold in Amazon’s store, including the pandemic,
- Third-party sales are growing faster than Amazon’s first-party sales, and
- In the twelve-month period ending in May, American SMB sales accounted for more than 3.4 billion products, up from 2.7 billion year-over-year, with an average sales total of $160,000, up from approximately $100,000 in the prior year.
Another $100 million has been dedicated to help small businesses around the world increase their sales and reach new customers this coming Prime Day and throughout the holiday season. In 2019 Prime Day, third-party sellers – mostly SMBs – exceeded $2 billion in global sales. The company plans to spotlight the diversity of small businesses that sell in Amazon’s store with the goal of positioning them for greater sales during Prime Day and throughout the fourth quarter of 2020.
Features and benefits of the free tools for small businesses includes insight such as “Repeat Purchase Behavior” that gives sellers data on how customers engage with brands, while “Brand Follow” are the customer relationship management tools helping them to connect with customers who have shown an interest in their brand via personalized posts on the homepage.
Read Amazon’s Report about the success of Small Businesses during COVID-19
