Amazon to shut Webstore service in Germany

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According to a a note on the Amazon Webstore homepage in Germany, the Amazon.de Webstore product is no longer open to new applicants and will be completely discontinued at the end of June this year. See a grab below of the homepage sign, which I’ve translated using Google.

webstore

Details are scant and no official reason has been given. But as you can imagine, if as a seller you had invested a great deal of time getting your Amazon webstore up and running, this news would be a real blow and a massive setback for your business. It’s another useful reminder of the awesome influence third parties often have on ecommerce businesses.

It’s worth remembering that Amazon doesn’t enjoy quite the market prominence in Germany that it does here in the UK or in US. But this is an unusual setback and withdrawal by the usually irrepressible ecommerce giant.

The news will also be cause for disquiet for traders who are relying on the service in other locations. The total number of UK Amazon webstores users is unknown but it does include Marks and Sparks in the UK. You never know, this could be the beginning of the end for Amazon Webstores?

3 Responses

  1. Amazon have been seriously promoting webstores and prior to Christmas I bit the bullet and opened one. There is quite a lot to getting your store up and running and to be honest I have been so busy with my main Amazon account I haven’t had the time to add images, tidy up and generally spend time on it.
    If Amazon have any intention of closing UK webstores I hope that let sellers know sooner than later.
    Not sure whether to carry on or abandon it now before spending more time and effort on it.

  2. I was undecided about whether to get a webstore – I think this piece of news probably settles it for me. Won’t risk it now.

  3. This says less about Amazon than it does online sales in Germany. Simply put, Germany is different and what works (and what sells) elsewhere has no bearing whatsoever with online marketing in Germany.

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