Global Selling Update _ Amazon 2016 Fourth Quarter News

Amazon's growth momentum was good in the fourth quarter and full year of 2016, and the third-party business became one of the highlights

In 2016, Amazon's global performance maintained a good growth trend. Among them, it cannot be overlooked that the third-party business has made great strides. Third-party sellers account for 49% of the number of products sold by Amazon globally. More than 100,000 Amazon sellers have annual sales of over 100,000 US dollars, an increase of 30% over the previous year. The achievement of these achievements is due to a series of practical efforts to help sellers “Cargo Connect Global”, including continuous support for FBA services, the “Global Store” series of tools to achieve localization upgrades, and continuous promotion of product promotion, brand filing, and self-service. In 2017, Amazon will continue this positive trend, creating huge business opportunities for manufacturers, brands, and entrepreneurs to enter the global market.

Amazon recently released financial reports for the fourth quarter and full year of fiscal year 2016. Amazon's net sales for the fourth quarter reached US$43.7 billion, up 22% from US$35.7 billion in the same period in 2015; net sales for the full year of 2016 were US$136 billion, up 27% from US$107 billion in 2015. Additionally, in the fourth quarter of 2016, the number of products sold by third-party sellers accounted for 49% of the number of products sold by Amazon globally.

Strong performance in North America, rapid growth in electronic products and other daily necessities

According to financial reports, Amazon's net sales for the fourth quarter were US$26.2 billion, up 22% from US$21.5 billion in the same period in 2015; the net sales of the North American site for the full year of 2016 were US$79.8 billion, up 25% from US$63.7 billion in 2015. For international sites outside of North America, Amazon's net sales for the fourth quarter were US$14 billion, up 18% from US$11.8 billion in the same period in 2015; the net sales of international sites for the full year of 2016 were US$44 billion, up 24% from US$35.4 billion in 2015.

In terms of product categories, electronic products and other daily necessities showed outstanding performance. In the fourth quarter, net sales at the North American site were US$21.6 billion, and net sales at the international site were US$10.5 billion, an increase of about 40% over the previous year. In 2016, net sales of electronic products and other daily necessities in North America were US$64.9 billion, up 29% year on year, and net sales at international sites were US$33.1 billion, up 31% year on year.

Third-party businesses are booming, global sellers, and goods are connected worldwide

In 2016, while global performance grew rapidly, Amazon's third-party business also made great strides, creating huge business opportunities for sellers, brands, and entrepreneurs to enter the global market.

Amazon Fulfilment Services (FBA) continues to help sellers grow their business:

In 2016, Amazon Logistics Services (FBA) shipped more than 2 billion products to sellers worldwide, and the number of active sellers using FBA increased by more than 70%. Amazon sellers from more than 130 countries and regions around the world have used FBA services to ship products to customers in 185 countries and regions.
In the fourth quarter of 2016, the number of products shipped by FBA accounted for more than 55% of the total number of products sold by third-party sellers.

Global seller sales reached a new high, making it easier to expand global business:

In 2016, more than 100,000 Amazon sellers had annual sales of over $100,000, an increase of 30% over the previous year.
Sellers around the world received orders for more than 28 million items on “Cyber Monday” (Cyber Monday).
In 2016, Amazon “Global Selling” provided a range of localization tools to help sellers easily manage their global business. Amazon's global sites, including North America, Europe, and Japan, have recently upgraded all language conversion tools to provide sellers with seven language options, including English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Chinese, and Japanese.
Amazon Global Sponsored Products clicks increased by more than 150% due to an increase in the number of desktop and mobile ads. In 2016, the number of global sellers using the “Sponsored Products” service increased by more than 100%.
At the same time, third-party sellers can register their brands on Amazon, bringing a more authentic and trustworthy experience to customers who buy branded products on Amazon. Sellers can also use self-service tools to easily post promotions to increase product visibility.

In 2016, the performance and business development of Chinese sellers in “Global Sales” maintained a good growth momentum. In 2017, Amazon's “Global Selling” will adopt four strategic priorities, namely setting up an Amazon Business seller recruitment team for Chinese sellers, continuously improving the user experience by improving the quality of sellers' products, helping Chinese sellers build “global brands” through “global sales”, and providing targeted support and services to Chinese manufacturing companies to promote the upgrading and transformation of the manufacturing industry, thus further helping Chinese sellers successfully expand their global business and tap the growth potential of global cross-border e-commerce.