You’d be hard pressed to find someone who has never bought anything through Amazon, even small business owners.
From groceries to furniture, Amazon offers it all — and for the most part, cheaper than anywhere else.
Amazon has become many consumers’ first stop when looking to purchase online, which is why many small businesses have decided to join Amazon’s Marketplace in order to reach more consumers.
Amazon has painted this as a tool to help entrepreneurs, but not everyone sees it this way.
A Helping Hand…
During National Small Business Week 2018, Amazon announced that more than one million small businesses in America sell their products on its platform.
According to some, these small businesses should be thanking Amazon. Here are a few reasons why:
- Amazon’s tools allow small businesses to have a wider reach. Using Amazon Fulfillment, for example, helps them do business with 185 countries.
- They’re able to piggyback off of Amazon’s marketing efforts. For example, Amazon sold more than 28 million items during Cyber Monday 2016.
…Or Destroyer of Dreams?
The other school of thought, seconded by President Trump no less, is that Amazon is killing small businesses. And it wasn’t hard to find this side’s supporting evidence:
- The number of retail small businesses in America has fallen by 85,000 over the last decade.
- Out of 850 small businesses that were surveyed, 90% of businesses feel that Amazon has had a negative impact on their sales.
- Amazon has become known for copying the ideas of its sellers in order to compete against them.
There’s no doubt that Amazon has quite frankly taken over the consumer goods market place and continues to grow and grow. The question of whether it’s good or bad for American small businesses…I guess it depends on who’s asking.
For ideas on how to market your small business, whether you partner with Amazon or not, read more on our blog.