For many years, third-party merchants on Amazon accounted for about 30% of the units sold. Now that figure is approaching 50%, but paradoxically, many sellers are more dependent on Amazon than ever.
Amazon is famous for being tight-lipped, but it released some interesting tidbits in a press release on Tuesday about third party sellers. One key takeaway is the importance of its FBA fulfillment program. Amazon delivered more than 1 billion FBA items worldwide in 2015, and active sellers using the FBA service grew more than 50 percent worldwide year-over-year. More FBA stats are found in Tuesday’s AuctionBytes Blog
Another interesting fact about third-party sellers: more than 23 million items were ordered worldwide from sellers on Amazon on Cyber Monday, the company revealed. And during the holiday season, individuals and businesses selling on Amazon sold to more than 80 percent of Amazon customers worldwide who ordered a physical item.
While there’s always concern among brands and retailers about channel conflict and about the competitive threat Amazon poses, the company wanted people to know it can attract them to its marketplace: “Top brands and vertical retailers became sellers on Amazon including Payless Shoes, Bluefly, Jewelry.com and Pep Boys,” Amazon revealed.
According to the New York Times which was citing numbers from Macquarie Research, of every additional $1 Americans spent for items online this year, Amazon captured 51 cents.
That makes the marketplace an irresistible place for many sellers, while they themselves are helping Amazon achieve those numbers.
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