Amazon boasts 25% increase in UK marketplace sellers

THE number of small and medium-sized British businesses selling over Amazon.com’s marketplace soared by more than 25 per cent in 2021, faster than in Germany, France or Italy.

Some 85,000 smaller UK enterprises now sell on Amazon, responsible for more than 950 million product sales - or 1,750 per minute, the Seattle-based tech giant said in a statement Monday (Oct 3). More than 700 of those merchants have sales of more than £1 million (S$1.6 million).

Facing antitrust scrutiny around the world, Amazon is positioning itself as a champion of small business and a job creator, promoting online courses aimed at sellers to use its platform more effectively. In July, Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launched a probe into Amazon’s retail and reselling business, following EU and US investigations. The CMA cited suspected breaches of competition law and said its initial information gathering was set to end in September.

Some smaller European countries including the Netherlands, Poland and Sweden grew their marketplaces faster than Britain, but from a lower base, Amazon said. BLOOMBERG