Today, many countries are reporting that eCommerce is growing rapidly and many small and large eCommerce players are being established within their borders. The entry of Amazon as a B2B player in some of these countries is going to change the game plan considerably.
Actually, Amazon is doubling its B2B supply marketplace. Amazon’s focus is now on Amazon for Business, and the full features of Amazon for Business will be offered only to registered business customers. As Amazon will be shuttering Amazon Supply soon, which is its existing B2B portal for many verticals, the products that it is offering there will be folded into Amazon and the larger Amazon Market place, for B2B.
While it is necessarily a big opportunity for the company, it could spell a nightmare for smaller websites. This event could change the game for the worse for small and medium scale eCommerce business players, as the entry of Amazon could lead to lower margins and increase the price of traffic. This could additionally lead to the closure of small online stores.
It many of these countries, the smaller stores do not have any choice, but to offer their products through Amazon. However, many of the smaller players do not know that Amazon brings the products of these smaller stores under their own product range after evaluating the statistics and determining which product is doing well.
In 2012, Amazon stealthily launched Amazon Supply as an initial bet on B2B commerce. Now that they have launched the new Amazon Business program, that they have further launched themselves with full force in this field. This is a potential game-changing development, which means that it is a wake up call for B2B wholesalers and distributors who possibly might face the gigantic force of this company.
Since Amazon sees enormous potential in the B2B space, they are serious about entering the B2B business, especially after establishing an business customer base through their initial foray. Now, they stand to benefit from the universal brand recognition they have built for themselves and are already many of their potential business end users are already their website’s customers.
Hence, as you will now understand, smaller online stores will have no choice but to bear this strategy or bear the brunt of closing down the business, as Amazon with its accessibility and service can break an eCommerce market. Once Amazon enters a market, it may lead to a narrower offering, which is definitely going to affect concerned consumers. Also for a well-functioning small business eCommerce store having an eCommerce website, it is essential that they have a well positioned and functioning website, because with Amazon, there is almost no room provided for individual customization.
So, the immediate question that comes is to the mind is that what about the stability of the smaller players in the market? They need to protect themselves by distinguishing themselves from the competitors and have a strong brand as well as a clear product/service niche. They also need to protect themselves from undue competition and position themselves against the giant so that they can still serve a winning disposition. >From here, they need to secure a vantage position to position themselves.
Shivi Rao is a content marketer with Krish. She has worked in various industries spanning technology, science, rural marketing, startups & unicorns, eCommerce business, and digital marketing, believing that content is the foundation to facilitate the visibility of any organization and ensuring her words do the same. In her free time, you can either find her lifting weights in the gym or feeding the strays.
21 December, 2022 After WooCommerce, Shopify is the 2nd most loved and used eCommerce platform worldwide. Shopify is an entirely feature-rich eCommerce platform. It offers many drag-and-drop options, and its apps work tremendously for store owners. In addition, Shopify is easy to use as it doesn't require depth coding.
Never miss any post, stay tuned!