Amazon

Amazon started as an online bookstore launched from a garage in Bellevue, Washington in 1994. Jeff Bezos named it after the world's largest river, chosen partly because names beginning with A rank high alphabetically, and partly to signal the scale of his ambition. Within a few years, Amazon had expanded from books into music and electronics, and by the early 2000s it was selling essentially everything, to everyone, everywhere. Three decades on, it is the world's largest e-commerce company, one of the biggest advertising platforms on the planet, and the dominant force in cloud computing through Amazon Web Services.

The scale is genuinely difficult to internalise. Amazon serves over 300 million active customer accounts globally. Its Prime subscription programme has over 200 million subscribers worldwide. In the United States, Amazon accounts for approximately 37-40% of all e-commerce sales depending on the measurement methodology.

Selling on Amazon: 1P vs 3P

For brands, there are two routes into the Amazon ecosystem. Vendor Central (first-party, or 1P) is the wholesale model: Amazon buys products and sells them as the retailer. Seller Central (third-party, or 3P) is the marketplace model, where brands list and sell directly to consumers through Amazon's platform. The 3P model now accounts for over 60% of Amazon's unit sales, and most brand owners find it gives them far greater control over pricing, presentation, and profitability.

FBA: the engine of Amazon logistics

Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA) is one of the most consequential programmes in e-commerce history. Sellers ship inventory to Amazon's fulfilment centres; Amazon handles storage, picking, packing, shipping, customer service, and returns. FBA products automatically qualify for Prime — the single most powerful conversion driver on the marketplace. Prime members convert at dramatically higher rates than non-Prime shoppers and spend significantly more per year.

Amazon Advertising

Amazon Advertising has grown into a multi-billion-dollar business. Sponsored Products ads appear within search results and on product detail pages. Sponsored Brands promote a brand's logo and range at the top of search pages. Amazon DSP extends reach beyond Amazon, allowing brands to target Amazon audiences across the broader internet using Amazon's proprietary shopping data — some of the richest first-party purchase intent data in digital advertising.

Global reach

Amazon operates dedicated marketplaces in the United States, Canada, Mexico, the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Sweden, Poland, Belgium, Ireland, Japan, Australia, India, Singapore, UAE, and Saudi Arabia. For brands with international ambitions, Amazon's Pan-European FBA programme allows inventory stored in one EU country to be sold and fulfilled across all European marketplaces — simplifying logistics enormously.

Brand Registry and brand protection

Amazon Brand Registry provides access to A+ Content, Amazon Stores, Brand Analytics, and Vine for generating early verified reviews. Brand Registry also provides tools to identify and remove counterfeit listings and unauthorised resellers — an ongoing challenge for brands with desirable products. A+ Content in particular has been shown to significantly increase conversion rates and reduce return rates for registered brands.