Amazon’s International Expansion Team is setting up products in the European marketplace. Expanding globally can be an excellent opportunity for growth.
Amazon’s International Expansion Team has been reaching out to U.S. vendors with the hopes of increasing selection in the European marketplaces (United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, and Spain).
In certain cases, Amazon has started moving products before proper permission has been given. This can disrupt a brand’s distribution network in other countries and can create compliance issues that are unknown to the vendor. It is important that vendors keep an eye on where their products are being sold.
That being said…
Amazon’s expanding global reach presents a huge opportunity for vendors selling to Amazon.
As categories in the U.S. mature, their primary focus moves from selection to profitability. When setting up new products, some categories can be more selective with what they purchase. In some cases new products won’t be purchased by Amazon until there is a customer sale.
When Amazon doesn’t have inventory on a product, the product’s detail page will normally display an out of stock message, which deters customers from purchasing the product. If a customer never buys the product, Amazon is less likely to purchase the product. Navazon will be releasing an infographic in a coming newsletter that depicts factors involved in the creation and purchasing of an ASIN.
Most international marketplaces are so new, their primary goal is still selection. Amazon Australia started with approximately 24.7 million available products (about 4% of the US selection). Initially, the limited selection on Amazon.com.au was not an issue because people in Australia had access to and would purchase products from Amazon.com. However, on July 1, Amazon disabled access to the US site from Australia, meaning that Australian customers are generally restricted to purchasing through the dedicated Amazon.com.au site. For vendors set up to sell in Australia, this a great opportunity to start building relevance and capturing sales before other brands.