Amazon Strategy: A Shortcut to Internationalisation

It was recently reported that more than a quarter of all revenue for sellers on Amazon globally came from cross-border transactions, so it’s no wonder that many brands see marketplaces as a shortcut to internationalisation.

Amazon’s dominant position for ecommerce sales in several markets means that every brand needs a marketplace strategy, however we acknowledge that there are local differences on the platform in each market that should be considered. We highlight notable takeaways from the report below.

Low-cost Amazon Prime

There are significant differences in the annual cost of Amazon Prime, particularly where the marketplace uses the programme to recruit customers in countries where it is building its presence. The price is substantially lower in developed markets such as Australia ($38.80) and the UAE ($38.12), where Amazon is working hard to gain customers and market share.

Desktop vs. Mobile

India was found to have a much higher percentage of traffic from mobile devices than other markets. This comes as no surprise as in India, for many consumers, internet access is limited to smartphone users. Using Amazon as a route to market in these countries means that a brand will benefit from Amazon's sites being mobile optimised; however, your brand imagery also needs to adhere to best practice to be easily viewed on mobile devices.

Visit duration and page views

Consumers in markets where Amazon is more dominant - such as the USA and Western Europe - have longer visit durations and view more pages per visit than consumers in markets where there is more local competition. For instance, the average visit duration in Italy is 7 minutes 16 seconds, compared to Japan, where consumers browse much less, which has an average visit duration of only 1 minute 13 seconds.

Top selling categories

There is strong commonality between the different markets in terms of the top selling categories in each country. Health and Beauty is top category in all 12 countries, and electronics a top category in 7 countries. Regional differences can be seen with Grocery & Gourmet Food only ranking as a top category in France, and Stationary & Office only ranking as a top category in Brazil.

Cross-border selling provides a shortcut to internationalization

Amazon’s USA, UK and German sites receive more monthly unique visitors than these countries have citizens. This is because they will also receive visits from shoppers in markets where there is no local instance of Amazon, or where the availability or price of goods available locally is not as competitive. To ensure it has selection in key categories, Amazon encourages cross-border selling meaning your products will be readily available in markets that previously might have required a localization strategy; providing a shortcut to internationalization for many brands.