How to Set Up an Amazon E-commerce Store

Amazon is one of the largest retailers in the UK as well as the rest of Europe. With a gigantic reach and a good reputation, it’s not hard to see why selling on Amazon might be worthwhile. However, it’s not for everyone. In this post, we’re going to help you find out whether selling on Amazon is right for you, as well as how to set up an Amazon E-commerce store in the UK.

Why sell on Amazon?

With tens of millions of potential clients in the UK and Europe and with close to half a billion website visits per month, Amazon UK is a prime location to advertise and sell your products. Selling has never been easier, with various advertising opportunities as well as direct promotion being made available to you after registration. Fulfillment can also be outsourced to Amazon, meaning you don’t even have to pack and ship the products you sell there.

There are plenty of reasons why selling on Amazon is a good idea, be it more visibility, more sales, or outsourcing fulfillment. However, there are a few downsides too which may make it less effective for some businesses.

Why it may not be for you

First off, there are costs attached to selling on Amazon. Although these aren’t all too high, it is something to be aware of when you first start selling on the platform. Fierce competition from both other vendors in the UK as well as those outside of the UK means price wars are common, as well as other companies creating similar products if they see your products doing well. The Brand Services program does offer some protection and gives you more control over your brand, but it doesn’t mitigate this issue completely. This is something to be aware of if you don’t have a brand yourself, or are in an industry that’s very sensitive to these sorts of issues.

That being said, Amazon is still a great place to grow your revenue and can make your life a whole lot easier if you use their tools and services optimally. For most businesses, the upsides far outweigh the downsides.

What you need to set up an Amazon E-commerce store

Getting started on Amazon is very easy, and there’s not a lot you need in order to register. It costs just £25 per month to register as a vendor on Amazon UK, which isn’t a lot of money when you consider the large number of monthly users the platform has. Apart from the monthly fee, a product to sell, your personal and/or company details, there’s not much else you need to get started!

How to get started

Go to https://services.amazon.co.uk/ to get started and follow the steps in order to create your seller account. Choosing a plan is an important choice you have to make before completing your registration. Going with the professional plan can save you a lot of money in the long run, since you only have to sell a small number of products for it to be cheaper than the individual one. The professional plan also offers you more tools and options, which can help you get the best start on Amazon.

Make sure to take the time to fill in all the details they ask. An error during registration can prevent you from being able to start selling or can delay the process unnecessarily. Make sure you have your company details at hand before you register.

After you’ve completed your registration, it’s time to start uploading your products and creating your store. This is made super easy by Amazon and should be self-explanatory once you’re logged in. Make sure you use SEO-optimised descriptions and high-quality images to ensure you have the best chance of getting sales on the platform.

Tips for getting more sales on Amazon

• Take advantage of Brand Services if possible

If you have a registered trademark, Amazon Brand Services helps you to protect your brand as well as gives you more tools to promote it. You enjoy branded store pages, more control over how other sellers display your products (if applicable), and custom brand analytics.

• Take the time to learn the platform

When you first start leveraging a new marketing channel, it’s important to take the time to learn about the different tools and functionalities the platform offers. This will help you get the best results.

• Promote your store

Promoting your store on Amazon will help you drive more traffic and get more sales. Especially when first starting out, the first few sales and reviews can make a huge difference, so it’s worth promoting your store when getting started.

• Don’t forget about SEO

Your product listings are web pages, and they happen to be on one of the most powerful E-commerce domains around. Make sure you optimise your listings and do your best to rank in search engines for relevant terms to get the most out of your listings.

• Reviews build trust

Reviews are important to potential customers, but Amazon’s algorithm also places a lot of weight on reviews. Make sure you go out of your way to get more reviews on your products if you want to get more sales.

Do it yourself or outsource to an agency?

Getting started on Amazon is easy for anyone to do, but mastering it is something that takes years. If you’re only going to be selling a few hundred pounds worth of products per month, it’s not worth outsourcing to an agency. If you have the time, it may be worth taking a course in Amazon selling in order to improve your results.

However, if you plan to start selling larger quantities, or you’re already part of a large organization, then partnering with an agency can be extremely beneficial. Here at Racer, both branding and E-commerce are a big part of what we do. If you’re looking to start selling on Amazon and would like to improve your results, send us a message or give us a call to see how we can best support your business.