Over 60% of sales on Amazon were from independent sellers in 2022, and independent sellers in the US sold over 4.1 billion products and exported over 260 million products, Amazon revealed in a new report on Tuesday.
To get a sense of how those numbers have changed over the past decade:
- In 2013, Amazon merchants sold over a billion products worldwide.
- In 2012, third-party sales were 39% of worldwide paid units in the third quarter.
According to the new Small Business Empowerment report, US sellers averaged sales of over $230,000 on Amazon in 2022, and they employed an estimated 1.5 million people in the US.
A number that may be of special interest to sellers who use Amazon’s FBA fulfillment service: Independent sellers donated nearly 100 million products through the FBA Donations program in 2022. The program donates to charity unwanted inventory stored in Amazon’s US fulfillment centers, such as overstock or returns, at sellers’ request (Amazon charges its usual disposal fees but makes donation certificates available to sellers.)
Some other 2022 data cited in the report:
- Brand owners grew sales over 20% year-over-year on Amazon.
- The five most shopped categories from US independent sellers on Amazon were 1) Health & Personal Care, 2) Home, 3) Beauty, 4) Grocery, and 5) Apparel.
- California, Florida, New Jersey, New York, and Texas were the five states with the most independent sellers on Amazon.
- Sellers in rural areas, including parts of Illinois, Louisiana, West Virginia, and Wyoming, collectively achieved over 40% year-over-year sales growth on Amazon, “demonstrating the opportunity Amazon unlocks for small businesses across the country.”
The report describes benefits of selling on Amazon and includes seller profiles. Tuesday’s blog post written by Dharmesh Mehta, Vice President, Worldwide Selling Partner Services, “8 top takeaways from Amazon’s 2022 Small Business Empowerment Report,” includes a link to the report.
Amazon released its 2021 Small Business Empowerment Report in October of 2021.