What are some good products to sell on Amazon Business in 2020?The office furniture category is worth exploring!As one of the world’s largest producers of office furniture, China has already seen many sellers leverage this advantage to capture business opportunities in office furniture on Amazon Business.

As a relatively popular subcategory within Amazon Business office supplies, office furniture currently serves four main customer types: educational institutions, business users, medical institutions, and government entities, including Fortune 500 companies, large hospitals, public schools, local governments, laboratories, and daycare centers. If sellers want to enter the market through office furniture this year and get a share of the pie, what opportunities can they consider?Below, we’ve put together a highly practical guide to help you get ahead and win from the start!

One chart to help you understand
How big is the market opportunity in the office furniture category!

Next, we’ve put together a best-selling office furniture selection guide for Amazon Business in the US, Europe, and Japan to help you better identify opportunities and strike gold!

Hot-selling product details: Based on 2020 trends in the United States marketplace, rapidly iterated and innovatively advanced office furniture will drive market growth, offering healthier and more comfortable options. This office chair’s PU leather is soft and thick, and its ergonomic design helps prevent employees from getting fatigued after sitting for long periods, aligning with the trend toward healthier, more comfortable office environments, so it is popular with Amazon Business customers in the United States marketplace.

Hot-selling insights: In Europe marketplace office chair purchasing, standard swivel computer chairs still account for the largest share of purchases, but based on buying trends, more comfortable ergonomic office chairs and well-crafted leather office chairs are increasingly becoming the new favorites of Amazon Business customers in Europe. It is also worth noting that ergonomic office chairs exported from China are gradually becoming influential, and many products from sellers in this category have quickly captured the European market as soon as they went on sale.

Detailed analysis of best-selling products: Overtime culture is fairly common in Japan, and with high internet penetration, people are spending more and more time at computer desks/desks, making comfortable office/gaming chairs that can adapt to a variety of scenarios quite popular. However, prolonged sitting and poor posture can also lead to “occupational diseases,” so Japanese business buyers prefer ergonomic office/gaming chairs that can be adjusted flexibly to let users fully stretch their bodies. Influenced by Japan’s minimalist culture, black-and-white tones are bestselling colors for this type of product.

Hot-selling details: In recent years, small and medium-sized businesses in the United States marketplace with home offices have continuously placed orders as an emerging customer group. These businesses have limited office and storage space, so they tend to buy lightweight, small products that can be moved flexibly. This modern mobile office TV stand meets that need. It can also be used to hold a screen for projection in conference rooms and is also suitable for large businesses.

Hot sale details: This lift table is sturdy and durable. The desktop can hold a maximum of 10–15 kg, and the keyboard tray can hold 2–3 kg. The spacious top can hold two monitors, making effective use of office space. Ergonomically designed for office environments where computers are used, it lets users choose to work standing or sitting, helping relieve back, waist, and neck fatigue. You can also freely adjust the height by pulling the lever on the desktop. The lever uses pneumatic lift assistance, so it takes little effort to use.

Hot-selling details: According to the needs of Amazon Business customers in the United States marketplace, ease of installation is one of the purchase factors they value most. When it comes to materials, they prefer durable materials that don't deform easily. This Z-shaped desk is better suited to today’s young people’s multifunctional living and working spaces, letting them switch easily between work and life.

Hot-selling details: Among desk subcategories in the Europe marketplace, standard computer desks have the highest purchase volume, the widest range of use cases, the highest usage frequency, and a relatively high repeat purchase rate. At the same time, business buyers in the Europe marketplace tend to prefer heavier materials when buying conference tables.

Hot-selling product details: In the Japan marketplace, the number of new small companies is gradually increasing, and office space is limited. The L-shaped desk design aligns with this trend, using an L-shaped corner design to make more efficient use of office space. The desk corners are positioned on all four sides of the desk to help prevent users from kicking them and to make cleaning easier. The desktop also has 3–4 cable holes for easily connecting power strips, computers, and lighting equipment.

Hot-selling insight: One of the main needs of business buyers in the United States marketplace for office furniture is versatility across multiple settings. This storage rack is a great choice for storing office supplies and decorative items, and it can also be used with hooks to hang clothes and other items for office employees. The movable wheels also make the new mobile office setup more convenient.

Hot-selling breakdown: Japanese people are not only good at organizing, but also like storage products that let them use storage space flexibly. This storage box comes with two dividers, so you can flexibly divide the storage box into two or four parts. Nowadays, more and more business buyers prefer office furniture that is lightweight and minimalist. This solid-color storage box creates a clean, neat look in the office, and for Japanese people in particular, who value aesthetics, its solid-color design makes it an ideal choice.

Hot-selling details: Most businesses in the United States have break rooms for employees to relax in, furnished with coffee tables, side tables, and single- or multi-seat sofas. Emerging small and medium-sized businesses are even designing their offices around a home-like concept, and business purchasing managers carefully choose decorative items that appeal to more employees to meet their needs. Therefore, stylish decorations that can be selected as a set are very popular on Amazon Business United States marketplace.

Hot-selling insight: From our back-end data analysis of Amazon Business Europe marketplace, we found that educational whiteboards are currently the most frequently purchased products in the whiteboard category, and schools and educational institutions are the main buyers of these products. In addition, frameless whiteboards and freestanding whiteboards are also common office tools in the workplace, and buyers often purchase both products in large quantities in a single order to meet different functional needs.

After reading the product selection introduction above, do you have more ideas on how to choose products that better meet the needs of corporate buyers?Product selection is only the first step. Next, you need a more practical operating plan to help your business get on the right track as soon as possible. We’ve put together an office furniture operations knowledge guide for the three major marketplaces in the US, Europe, and Japan to help you grow your office furniture business!

United States marketplace office furniture sales are relatively steady throughout the year, with the regular peak sales season occurring during Halloween in October, Thanksgiving in November, and Christmas in December.

Europe marketplace, sales of office furniture are relatively stable throughout the year. Every year, the back-to-work season from January to the end of February is the peak period when companies purchase office furniture in large quantities. For sellers in the Europe marketplace, there are many concentrated promotional days at the end of the year, which also creates a minor sales peak. Given the characteristics of office furniture—high unit prices, large one-time purchase quantities, and relatively low purchase frequency—more sellers choose long-term brand awareness advertising to promote their products, while also using short-term Lightning Deals to support their sales plans. The recommended calendar for sellers in the Europe marketplace is as follows:

In the Japan marketplace, corporate buyers’ purchasing needs are often planned based on their company’s fiscal-year procurement budget. For most Japanese companies, the fiscal year ends in late March or early April. During this period, corporate buyers often use the remaining unused procurement budget from the previous year for the following year’s spending and use the new year’s budget to make procurement plans. So, March and April are relatively strong months for office furniture sales in the Japan marketplace.

United States marketplace sellers need to pay attention to requirements at two levels—factory level: quality must meet standards, and 3A packaging refers to packaging that meets ISTA-3A standards. We’re fairly strict about the instruction manual. Assembly must be simple, and the materials must comply with US requirements (panel furniture cannot be made of solid wood, as solid wood is subject to anti-dumping measures). For large file cabinets, the factory must provide signs such as “!” and the cabinets must be secured to the wall. At the packaging level, add multiple layers of protective foam to prevent damage during ocean shipping.
Europe marketplace sellers: because business buyers often have customized needs, manufacturers with their own factories tend to perform better in sales for this category.
Japan marketplace sellers do not need any additional certification. Because shipping fees and average order value are high for these products, we recommend this category to sellers with their own factories or supply chain advantages.

4. Kitchen and home: No matter how busy you are, you still can’t put off good food, and demand for coffee pots, kitchen supplies, and baking supplies is increasing.

Office furniture in Europe marketplace has gone through four stages of development: mass market, differentiation, customization, and personalization. The most prominent trend is that as market competition becomes increasingly intense, brand and quality assurance will gradually replace price as the key factor, and patent protection for special processes is something every seller needs to prepare for in advance.
Japan marketplace has no special patent requirements for the office furniture category. However, when manufacturing and selling office furniture, sellers should remember not to make products that are too similar in design to well-known brands, to avoid infringing design patents.

United States marketplaceA seller reminds fellow selling partners in the United States marketplace that for heavy and bulky products, shipping is very important, and if the packaging is not up to standard, the products can be easily damaged during transit. Therefore, single-wall or double-wall cartons are generally used, filled with foam strips and wrapped with pearl cotton, and the load-bearing capacity of the “VOS” outer carton must meet the standard; generally, 300 lb cartons are selected. The inner packaging must also be laid out reasonably based on the product’s accessories to minimize the damage rate during transportation. Office furniture is not a seasonal product. For logistics, make a replenishment plan, prepare FBA inventory in July and August, and make sure the shipment dimensions meet the appropriate size standards so they do not exceed them and drive up costs. The following is the cost breakdown for Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) in the United States marketplace:

As shown above: there is little difference in shipping costs between small and medium heavy and bulky items, but large heavy and bulky items directly increase sellers' costs by as much as about $75. We want to remind all heavy and bulky furniture sellers here that properly planning your product packaging dimensions can greatly help control costs.
Logistics and transportation tips for the Europe marketplace: you can refer to the experience shared by a major seller in the industry: because office furniture is bulky, the outer carton must meet load-bearing standards, and the inner packaging should be reasonably designed based on the product's accessories to minimize the damage rate during transportation. After a new product is launched, we recommend shipping it in 3–4 batches to test the market. Don’t launch everything at once, as this can reduce the efficiency of promoting new products, for example by causing top ad placements to compete with each other.
Japan marketplace also offers a detailed reference for delivery fees. You can choose appropriate packaging based on your product size to reduce logistics costs.

Large furniture is generally shipped by sea. Generally, sellers can ship from Ningbo and Shanghai, and the products can arrive at Japanese warehouses and be listed within 14 days. At the same time, when some major sellers sell furniture, they use ultra-rigid K5W cartons for packaging, and they conduct a six-sided, eight-corner drop test before shipping. Only products that pass the test are then sent to the FBA warehouse.

United States marketplace listings should be as informative and visually appealing as possible, with simple, easy-to-understand installation diagrams, clearly marked specifications and dimensions, scenario-based demonstrations, and displays showing how the product is used in multiple settings, such as homes and offices. For products that need to be assembled, it is important to upload the product manual, and the content should be simple and easy to understand. Reduce unnecessary negative reviews and returns.
Europe marketplace sellers should note that the product dimensions should be clearly marked on the product detail page so buyers can purchase compatible products based on the product information. At the same time, the European market also has relatively high environmental requirements for product materials, and using environmentally friendly materials is also one of the selling points that can help close a sale.
No brand filing is required for A+ on the Japan marketplace, so we recommend that selling partners on the Japan marketplace put more thought into their A+ Content and explore buyers’ use scenarios. In addition to office settings, you can also include home and indoor settings.

The United States marketplace office furniture category has BIFMA certification requirements. BIFMA is a non-profit trade association for corporate and institutional furniture manufacturers. BIFMA has been the voice of the commercial furniture industry since 1973. The services our industry provides to customers — providing healthy, comfortable, and efficient workspaces — depend on an infrastructure of engineering and material standards.
Most products sold in the European Economic Area require CE marking. The duration of the CE certification process depends on various factors. If all the required materials are in place, certification can generally be completed in about 4 weeks.
Chairs exported to the EU must meet the EN 12520 testing requirements for indoor seating and the EN 581-1-2 testing requirements for outdoor seating. Upholstered non-domestic seating products must meet the relevant requirements of the flame-retardancy test standard BS 7176.
In addition, if you sell whiteboard sets, note that the markers that come with the whiteboard contain ink and require a special dangerous goods (hazmat) review for sale in Europe. Sellers who need to send inventory to Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) need to contact your account manager to initiate this review.
For Japan marketplace, no additional certification is required for office furniture.

Northeast industrial region, mainly focused on manufacturing solid wood furniture. Its manufacturing capabilities are world-leading. The Yangtze River Delta industrial belt, for example, office chairs from Anji, traditional mahogany office furniture from Yiwu and Huzhou, and leather sofas from Haining are all known for their excellent quality. Pearl River Delta industrial zone, due to its excellent geographic location, can achieve an integrated process for furniture production, sales, supporting services, and export. For more details about the industrial regions, see the table below:

Business buyers of office furniture are mainly commercial enterprise buyers. In addition to corporate buyers, individual buyers also account for an average of over 70%. In addition to office settings, most use cases also occur in homes, bedrooms, studies, and similar spaces.

The top priority for overseas e-commerce buyers is low prices, followed by products that are easy to assemble, higher environmental requirements for raw materials, and ergonomic design.
In terms of materials, for business buyers in the United States marketplace, office chairs are mainly differentiated by nylon and PU leather, which are the mainstream materials. Computer desks mainly use steel structural supports and hardwood desktops, primarily with solid wood veneer. Filing cabinets are mainly made of steel and aluminum, which makes them easier to transport through logistics. The products’ versatile use across multiple environments is also one of the factors buyers consider.

Starting April 1, 2020, Amazon launched the “FBA New Selection program” in the United States, Europe, and Japan. Eligible FBA New Selection ASINs in the office furniture category may receive free monthly storage, free removals, and discounts on inbound transportation. For details, please go to the Seller Central help page for “FBA New Selection program.”

In the new year, if you want to strike gold in Amazon Business through the office furniture category, do thorough upfront market research, choose the right products, and refine your operations plan, your products may also, like the seller mentioned at the beginning, stand out in just a few days, break onto the first page for major keywords, and become hot sellers!