Why Do Brands Choose To Sell On Amazon?

By establishing an official Amazon presence, brands can use the platform to drive incremental revenue while maintaining control over how their products are represented.

With conversion rates on Amazon averaging 8-15% (compared to 3% on DTC sites), avoiding the platform does not protect your brand equity, it creates a vacuum for competitors and unauthorised resellers to capture your demand.

Instead of competing with the sales you make DTC, Amazon actually captures the demand that might otherwise be lost.

Will Amazon Cannibalise Your Sales?

A common fear amongst Amazon sellers is the risk of “cannibalising” direct sales…but this is also a common misconception. The phrase ‘cannibalisation of sales’ refers to the loss of sales from one channel (like your own website) or product because a similar version is being offered on Amazon.

However, Amazon actually captures incremental demand and secures sales from high-intent shoppers, who would have otherwise turned to a competitor or an unauthorised reseller if your brand wasn’t present on the platform.

If a brand doesn’t sell on Amazon, customers won’t necessarily switch to buying from the brand’s own website. Instead, they are met with two scenarios:

1. Competitor Poaching: A competitor offers an alternative product in your place.
2. Reseller Risk: A third-party reseller lists your product with incorrect content or non-compliant pricing.

By establishing an official presence, brands protect their margins and safeguard their credibility through consistent catalogue control.

What Can Selling on Amazon Help With?

• Market Capture: Having an official presence prevents competitors from poaching customers who are specifically searching for your brand.
• Superior Conversion: Amazon’s conversion rates are significantly higher (8-15%) than the industry average (3%), meaning you are more likely to close a sale there.
• The Halo Effect: Increased visibility on Amazon often leads to growth across your other sales channels, rather than a decrease.
• Trust and Scale: Brands can tap into established Prime member trust and expectations for fast delivery, which many DTC sites cannot match.

If these tools are used correctly, Amazon can be leveraged as a high growth channel that compliments reach, rather than a threat to be managed. As an example, brands like Apple demonstrate this by generating approximately $350 million monthly, from the platform.

Maximising Commercial Performance

By utilising our experience with category leading brands, Market Rocket ensures Amazon presence is an asset, not a distraction. Take a look at how we approach strategies where Operational Stability and Brand Storytelling work in tandem to fuel the Amazon Flywheel. This allows you to capture existing market demand and scale, knowing your catalogue integrity and brand equity are being professionally managed.

If you have any queries about selling on Amazon or anywhere else, Market Rocket can offer you a free consultation. You can email us at amazon@marketrocket.co.uk  or call 02037459090.