Amazon Australia have grown their seller base to 10,000 merchants, doubling in size from 5,000 just two months ago in January. That averages to around 70 sellers a day signing up to sell on Amazon in Australia and Marketplace Pulse who have been tracking seller numbers expect around 50,000 third party merchants to be selling on Amazon in Australia by the end of 2018.
The report also suggests that at least 1,000 merchants are signed up to FBA in Australia and of these more than half have placed the majority of their inventory into FBA.
For sellers from the UK, EU, US, and China, it makes sense to use FBA in Australia as this will significantly reduce shipping times. It will also position you ready for when Prime launches in Australia which it inevitably will do soon – Prime always favours products stored in Amazon’s own warehouse as it gives the marketplace confidence in their own pick, pack and ship infrastructure and certainty of the delivery promises they make to their customers.
It’s not particularly surprising that so many merchants are flocking to sign up to sell on Amazon in Australia. eBay is the defacto marketplace of choice and it would be surprising if eBay sellers weren’t keen to double down and become Amazon merchants diversifying their risk and potentially over time doubling their sales. That’s why you’ll see eBay so keen to launch new products and protecting their market share in Australia at the moment (e.g. eBay on Google Assistant and banning FBA shipments to fulfil eBay orders).
Whilst initial consumer reaction to Amazon was subdued in Australia as prices weren’t as keen as hoped for, as has been the case in every country they launch in Amazon will start to suck consumers into their ecosystem with Prime, Alexa devices, Video and TV content and a myriad of other must have services. If you’re not already selling on Amazon Australia then it’s time to seriously consider doing so. Getting in early gives you the opportunity to test the water, discover which of your products sell well and get your best selling lines into FBA early before Prime launches.
