Amazon to invest more than $15B in third-party sellers
Amazon announced that it plans to invest more than $15 billion in 2019 in infrastructure, tools, services, people, and programs to help third-party sellers.
Independent third-party sellers – primarily small and medium-sized businesses – made up 58 percent of all physical gross merchandise sold in Amazon’s stores in 2018 and their sales far exceeded $2 billion on Prime Day in July this year.
New tools and services – from inventory trackers, pricing tools, sales reports, and product branding and marketing tools, to educational videos and webinars – help level the playing field for small and medium-sized businesses and lower barriers of entry for them to start selling in Amazon’s stores, the company said. Delivered through Seller Central, the business management command center, these tools and services give small and medium-sized businesses access to valuable sales and inventory insights as well as resources to help them manage and grow their business with Amazon. Types of recently introduced tools and services include:
Fulfillment and inventory tools – The Target Inventory Levels tool launched in the U.S., the U.K., Italy, Spain, France, and Germany to help selling partners obtain better insights into their FBA inventory. Achieving suggested inventory levels increases sales through more 1-Day delivery eligibility, and qualifies selling partners for lower storage fees.
Appstore and third-party tools – The Amazon Marketplace Appstore expanded globally into Europe, India, Japan, and Australia. The Amazon Marketplace Appstore helps selling partners identify trusted third-party applications that complement Amazon’s free tools and help them streamline their business operations. With more than 200 apps available, selling partners can find tools and services across a range of categories including pricing, advertising, and inventory management.
Pricing management tools – Sold by Amazon, a free, opt-in service, helps selling partners save time and increase sales by automating prices so they can consistently and effortlessly offer customers great prices. Selling partners have peace of mind that they will never receive less than the established price for a product, even if the product is sold to an Amazon customer for less.
Business reports and analytics tools – The Product Opportunities dashboard can help selling partners find new product opportunities that align with how they want to grow and scale their business. To do so, this tool generates customized reports based on business analytics and data that provide curated guidance for selling partners, like purchasing trends and requests for quantity discounts, which help inform their decisions for how to grow their selection. Selling partners using Amazon Business can use the new
Marketplace Business Opportunities Portal reports to find more product listing opportunities for their business.
Seller University – An improved, redesigned Seller University portal helps selling partners find relevant educational content easier. In addition, Amazon launched a feature in Seller Central that gives selling partners personalized guidance about additional selling programs and features that they can experiment with to accelerate their growth. Each recommendation includes rich educational content (including Seller University videos) to help selling partners learn more about the programs.
INDUSTRIAL SUPPLY MAGAZINE
The March/April issue of Industrial Supply magazine features an in-depth cover story about Joyce Lansdale and Vallen. Plus, we're featuring articles by contributing writers Dirk Beveridge, Frank Hurtte, and David Kahle, as well as interviews with numerous product and distribution industry experts.
