How to sell in Europe on Amazon?
The Fulfillment By Amazon program has allowed many sellers to build successful businesses that focus on the U.S. market. Thousands of entrepreneurs, many from abroad, have taken advantage of the booming e-commerce landscape to make fortunes by selling to American consumers.
It’s a tried-and-true process. Creative problem-solvers come up with useful product ideas, have the items manufactured overseas and then offer them on Amazon. If the product meets a need and the audience takes a liking to it, a new FBA success story is written. In recent years, competition in the U.S. market has been on the rise for FBA participants. More and more people are turning to Amazon as a means of seeking to strike gold. An abundance of training courses has resulted in prospective sellers entering the Amazon game in droves. Although this mass entry doesn’t make it impossible to open Amazon businesses in the U.S., it is getting harder. For new entrants, looking to markets outside of the United States may be a prudent move. In order to best weigh your options and make the smartest choice, it helps to know the benefits of selling on Amazon Europe.
Increase Your Prospect for Sales
With a population of over 740 million, your potential audience in Europe is over twice the size of what is available in the United States. When looking at the major European markets where Amazon operates, namely the Amazon Europe Countries U.K., France, Germany, Spain and Italy, the total population of these countries is comparable to that of the U.S. Furthermore, if you choose to enter the U.K. market, you’ll be surprised to know that shoppers there spend more online than the average American.
Less Saturated Market
Only about ten percent of Amazon sellers are currently active in Europe (Amazon seller Europe). This means far less competition for ambitious marketers willing to set up an Amazon to target the big European markets.
The three other major markets for Amazon – UK, Germany, and Japan – are all growing at a similar rate of 17-19%. There was a significant increase of active sellers in Spain and Italy, there is still lots of space an opportunities not only for big sellers from the US.
Ecommerce sales in Europe grew to 621 Billion euros in 2019. Most of the online turnover is still being generated in Western Europe especially Germany, which accounts for approximately 66 percent of total European online retail turnover.
Lower Risk
Starting an Amazon FBA Europe countries business requires testing a product to see if it is worth sticking with. You can’t just put any item on Amazon and expect it to fly off the shelves. The sooner you know whether a product is a winner, the fewer the expenses you have to incur. As mentioned above, the European market is far less contested than the American one. This means that in the absence of fierce competition, you will find out sooner whether your product is a keeper or a dud.
Enter a Growing Market
With sales in the U.S. reaching a plateau, Amazon expansion plans Europe, has its eyes set on growing the website’s European presence. Indicative of this dynamic is the fact that online retail sales have been slightly declining in the United States over the past few years whereas the numbers from Europe show double-digit growth in that category. By choosing to focus your efforts on Europe, you will be taking advantage of Amazon’s brand name and the company’s drive to expand its domination of the online retail space outside the U.S.
Barriers to Competition
Not only is there less competition in Europe but also a higher barrier to entry for other prospective players. If you have the resolve to do the extra work required to enter the European market, you have the potential to reap disproportionate benefits. These barriers to entry for competition are listed below where we discuss the concerns you need to think about when building an Amazon presence in Europe.
Concerns with Selling on Amazon Europe
Starting your Amazon business in Europe is very similar to what you need to do in the U.S. There are a few differentiating factors that you should keep in mind so that you have the greatest chances of achieving success.
Intellectual Property
Laws dealing with intellectual property vary from country to country. You need to have knowledge of what holds true for intellectual property in the markets you are targeting. Start by familiarizing yourself with the legislation regarding intellectual property in the European Union. You don’t want to be infringing on the brand owner’s rights as sanctions for such instances can be steep.
In the case that you design your own product, you won’t have to worry about getting a brand owner’s permission to sell it in a specific country. You may, however, want to be on the other end of the protection offered by intellectual property laws. The last thing you want is for someone else to profit off of your hard work by stealing your brainchild.
Product Labeling
The European Union has strict specifications concerning labeling. Depending on what type of product you are selling, you may need to expressly state certain types of information on the label.
Health and Safety Regulations
Chemicals and electronic equipment are regulated by the European Union with regard to their safety. Making yourself familiar with the regulations that govern the sale of such items will make your life as an Amazon seller a lot easier.
Compliance
If you are selling to more than one European country, keep in mind that there are factors that differ across borders. The simplest example of this is power outlets. The types of plugs used across the continent vary and you need to account for such differences in the product you sell. Selling cosmetics, toys and food requires further research into regulations so as to remain compliant.
Consumer Rights
In recent years, the European Union has enacted extensive legislation that protects the rights of consumers living within its borders. If you are a sensible professional and do your due diligence when selecting a product to sell in Europe, you should have no problem conducting your business in accordance with these stipulations.
Language Barrier
Perhaps the most obvious concern with entering the European market on Amazon is the different languages people speak. Getting accurate translations for your product listings and labels, however, is only one side of the coin. You will also have to be able to read customer feedback and communicate with service providers such as accountants, lawyers or local business bureaus.
Although in this global market, language is not a prohibitive barrier, it is something that will need to concern you when setting up an Amazon business in a foreign country. In the case that you choose to target England, just be sure to use U.K. English.
With our special culture-specific micro-optimization technique especially for the European Union we provide our customers with unique and outstanding listings which aren’t just a localized translation.
We are not criticizing localized translations but seriously – is it really enough to secure paying customers? Are your current listings outstanding and reaching 100% potential?
The result will be to get you ranking higher, to get your brand name and listings in front of paying customers and ultimately get you to sell more products!
Keywords and Optimized Listings
The Margin Business Team is working with the most amazing Tool of the industry, Helium 10!
Helium 10 is the only all-in-one suite of Amazon FBA tools for SEO, product research, refunds, fraud protection, and inventory management offering accurate data for Amazon Europe. Bradley from Helium 10 has been kind enough to offer Margin business’ readers a discount – you can choose between 50% off for your first month or a lifetime discount of 10%.
Get Started
The pros of entering the European market via Amazon far outweigh the cons. Doing the appropriate research can show you the opportunities that lie ahead while keeping you away from any traps. Keep in mind that trends and interests vary between countries. A product that sells in the U.S. may not be well-received in Germany. In the end, if you put in the time, you can build a profitable business in a low competition environment with relatively low risk.
Margin Business can help you with the above points as we operated for years in the EU market and helped many successful brands to grow their brand on Amazon and other marketplaces.
Margin Business offers you 4 levels of optimization:
- Culture
- Audience
- Algorithm
- De-Positioning (The competition is unable to provide this secret sauce) and Positioning
(Our completely secret sauce)
