Amazon's new tools for small sellers
Amazon has launched 150 separate tools and services this year designed to help small sellers operating through its marketplaces.
With small and medium-sized businesses accounting for 58% of all sales made on Amazon around the world, independent retailers are a crucial constituency for the e-commerce giant. Amazon has now launched 150 separate tools and services this year designed to help SMEs operating through its marketplaces.
The initiative represents a significant increase in support for small businesses that depend on Amazon to reach their customers. The platform is keen to rebut criticisms that it has prioritised sales of its own products ahead of those of third-party sellers.
The services on offer do provide SMEs with access to the sort of functionality that large retailers take for granted. They include fulfilment and inventory management tools to help SMEs manage their stock more effectively, a suite of analytics software to help firms identify new sales opportunities, and automatic pricing data allowing sellers to manage the sales process more efficiently. Most of the tools are available for no additional cost, but retailers do risk increasing their dependence on Amazon for their business development.
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David Prosser is a regular MoneyWeek columnist, writing on small business and entrepreneurship, as well as pensions and other forms of tax-efficient savings and investments. David has been a financial journalist for almost 30 years, specialising initially in personal finance, and then in broader business coverage. He has worked for national newspaper groups including The Financial Times, The Guardian and Observer, Express Newspapers and, most recently, The Independent, where he served for more than three years as business editor.
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