The UK and DE marketplaces were the first Amazon Europe markets to open outside the US, both in late 1998, making Europe Amazon’s first foray into what is now a global presence. Since that time three other EU markets have been added, France, Italy and Spain, comprising the full European selling opportunity.
The Amazon EU markets have been around a while. Is now a good time to jump in?
Factors To Consider
A simple way to look at it is this:
More markets = more buyers = more opportunity for sales
By that measure (the more the merrier) adding five more markets to your Seller profile would seem to make sense. As with most things, however, there are factors to consider. There’s extra work involved, for one, and …
Well, that really covers just about any drawback you can think of:
There’s extra work involved.
But when wasn’t work involved in making money? If work leads to money, then extra work should lead to extra money, right? Any hurdle can be solved, it’s just a matter of weighing the time and effort required.
Fortunately selling on Amazon EU is well mapped, while at the same time still having lots of room to grow. And Amazon has made it easier than ever to get in.
- Amazon has boosted their EU marketplace services in the last several years. While you don’t have to be an FBA seller to sell internationally, Amazon makes the process incredibly streamlined if you are.
- Since Brexit, Amazon UK sales have actually increased. Retail sales overall in European markets are on the rise. Also, the average UK online shopper spends more annually than the average US online shopper.
- Amazon EU sales have seen significant growth in recent years. Western Europe has seen a steady average of 12% growth over 5 straight years, and Southern Europe has seen an average of 18% growth each year.
Europe is a hot opportunity. It really just comes down to a decision.
The Numbers
- Over half-a-billion people use the internet in the European Union.
- Over 60% of internet users in the EU shop online.
- In 2016, revenue for Amazon Germany was close to 13 billion euros.
- Germany is the second biggest marketplace for Amazon (the US is the #1 marketplace), and accounts for more than 10% of Amazon’s total revenue.
- By 2015, the UK already had over 1 million Amazon Prime subscribers.
- In 2017, over 363,450 new sellers started selling in Amazon’s European marketplaces (numbers are as of early December 2017).
- In April, Amazon was set out to have a total of 1,300 warehouses across Europe to distribute products.
- As of 2017, Amazon had more than 40,000 employees throughout Europe.
There’s more. We’ve linked to a great article (below) that covers those stats, as well as providing a ton of “getting started” info to launch your business on Amazon EU.
Check it out:
How To Set Up Selling On Amazon Seller Central Europe Platforms Profitably
VAT
The all-important Value Added Tax, the tax stipulated by countries of the EU. There are some pretty pressing EU VAT rules and regulations to abide by, but with a little understanding they’re easy enough to follow.
Here’s another link, this one to an article by our friends at Veeqo, which includes a video from a masterclass on VAT in the EU:
8 EU VAT Tips for Retailers Selling into Europe
Resources
There are so many resources to get going, starting right on Amazon.
Anyone with a Professional seller account can sell across all 5 EU marketplaces, and you can do it under a single account if desired. As an FBA seller, you can send your products to an Amazon EU fulfilment center for storage and shipping (see the article above for a full description of the three (3) fulfillment methods), your products are Prime eligible, and you have access to each of Amazon’s language-specific 24/7 customer service platforms.
Check out the above article on setting up to sell on Amazon Europe, and see if you’re ready to make the move.
It all starts with a decision.
All the best,
The ManageByStats Team
#ManageByStats
#SellingOnAmazon
