Successfully establishing yourself on Amazon

Amazon is a giant showcase that allows you to be in one click, within the reach of 21.5 million customers. But how to establish yourself on Amazon effectively for your B2C launch? And above all, what are the costs and benefits of this solution?

Footbar offers a new experience for playing football, halfway between sport and video games, all thanks to a sensor that the player wears on the leg during the match. After having proven ourselves on the B2B market by equipping competition organizers (more than 50,000 players equipped), our second step consists of conquering the B2C market in order to allow each player to acquire their own Meteor sensor and benefit from experience regardless of where he plays. If a presence on Amazon may seem obvious in this case, we wanted to carry out an analytical study to convince ourselves of this. This article is an opportunity for us to share our experience and the lessons we have learned with you. As a bonus, you will obtain an exclusive discount on our Meteor before the end of this article!

What you need to know about Amazon

Before opening our store we asked ourselves several questions: How to launch your store on Amazon? Is it essential to be on Amazon for a BtoC launch? What are the conditions, gains and sacrifices of being on the platform?

Every week, Amazon organizes webinars to train users on the different aspects of creating a store. Obviously the giant has every interest in setting up this type of event to convince as many people as possible to reference its platform and thus consolidate its hegemonic position. It was therefore necessary to filter between useful information and propaganda; here is what we learned from it.

First, to become a seller on Amazon, you must open an Amazon seller account which will give you access to your entire management console. You will be asked for basic information such as head office, activity and the person in charge of the account. Note that the platform charges a monthly subscription of €39 for the creation of a seller account. To this must be added the commissions on sales which vary between 7.21 and 20.6% depending on the product category.

Be careful when creating the account, note 24 hours for your bank card to be authorized. If your bank card is not validated, no product can be added.

20 product categories

Amazon separates its products into twenty different categories. It is very important to choose the right category, because the Amazon algorithm is used to fulfill their promise: to satisfy customers. A customer's search and navigation must be seamless for the experience to be optimal. In this sense, a poorly categorized product will be difficult for users to find. To properly categorize your product, you can use the Amazon product classifier. This is a tool to identify the category suitable for your product. You can also use the Amazon Tree User Guide. After creating a stock file, simply follow the instructions. Finally, one of the most obvious solutions is to test the classifier yourself by doing product searches on the Amazon platform.

Regarding our sensor, we looked for products similar to ours to choose the most suitable category. The categories that emerged were High-Tech, Sports and Leisure, Watches, Games and Toys, DIY, Kitchen & Home, Office Supplies and Video Games. We actually found ourselves in the High-Tech, Sports and Leisure and Video Games categories. After creating our Amazon Seller account, we tested the Amazon classifier. Our research led us to define our product in the Sports and Leisure category based on searches on Amazon, and the categorization of our competing products.

3 different programs

Amazon offers different partnerships through three major programs: retail, marketplace and FFA (Fulfillment by Amazon).

In the Retail program, Amazon buys the products from the manufacturer and sells them (to do this, you must receive an invitation from Amazon). In this case, the customer sees the words “Sold and shipped by Amazon” on the product sheet. Amazon creates the product sheet itself, but the manufacturer has access to an interface (Vendor central) which allows it to manage the product sheets and consult the data linked to sales on Ara Basic ( Amazon Retail Analytics Basic) . Additional data (market share, visits, etc.) requires a paid subscription. However, this program tends to be refused by Amazon for items with a low margin, it is reserved for products with a high unit margin. Given that Amazon sets the price, some brands, particularly luxury brands, refuse to be an Amazon partner because it can damage their image.

As for this famous invitation, it's impossible to know how to obtain it. After reading through the hundreds of articles on this famous program and participating in a webinar organized by Amazon, we also received no feedback from Amazon managers interviewed on the subject.

In the Marketplace program , storage, delivery and after-sales service (after-sales service) are entirely managed by the seller. Amazon, however, takes a commission (between 7 and 20% depending on the product category). In addition, it does not benefit from the Amazon Prime service (Amazon's loyalty program), which makes it possible to attract the most loyal buyers, a total of 150 million people worldwide. Amazon Prime is a subscription on the part of consumers which allows them to have multiple advantages linked to additional services and delivery. They benefit, among other things, from one working day delivery on eligible items in mainland France, Monaco and Belgium. Some items are even available for delivery the same evening. Prime customers have free access to other Amazon services such as Prime Video (film and series streaming service), Prime Prime Photos (photo storage space), Prime Music (music service), and many others ( find the complete list ).

The Fulfillment by Amazon program includes the Marketplace as well as the Fulfillment by Amazon service. Storage, delivery and after-sales service are therefore entirely managed by Amazon. The seller gains access to Prime buyers. It also makes it possible to sell throughout Europe and above all to effectively develop international activity. The pricing policy, for its part, is managed by the seller. The cost is determined by the type of product sold (its weight and dimensions) for shipping as well as the storage cost calculated by the number of cubic meters. The more products you have to store, the more you pay. This program is automatically chosen when creating your Amazon seller account.

This is the solution we chose. Practical, it does not require any intervention on our part, which makes life easier for our sales team. In addition, the services offered by Amazon thanks to this program (delivery within 24 hours for example) are significant and we could not have such an efficient shipping system. The fulfillment program is also a real advantage for us because, given the size of our product (9 grams, 8 mm thick), storage costs are not significant.

Agencies and specialized companies: how to choose your implementation strategy?

Last January we were approached by an agency specializing in the launch and management of Amazon stores. We contacted them and three similar agencies to see what they could offer.

The first agency we contacted offers a 10-week program containing the creation of the Amazon account, the validation of the brand creation process, support during the first shipment and the configuration of advertising campaigns for an amount of approximately 2000€. In return, the agency promises to have the first sales after 8 weeks.

The second agency offers a much more substantial offer in terms of costs (the intermediate offer being €7,900). This intermediate offer includes creation of the product sheet and the store, brand registration, coaching at mid-term and at the end of the program, a training module, automatic reporting, visual recommendation and definition of strategy. However, we had the impression that this offer was less concrete than the first.

The third agency supports brands with catalog management (i.e. product creation, product positioning in relation to keywords), business assistance (account monitoring, resolution of logistical problems and monitoring promotions), advertising (to increase visibility via sponsored content in particular). The offer amounted to €1,500, with an additional business assistance portion of €499.

The relevance of these agencies really depends on your needs, the type of business and the products to be sold. However, the offers are all more or less similar, namely the creation of the brand then support in the brand content and the creation of the page.

To summarize we can say that only the first agency contacted offered to create the account from A to Z, the other agencies were more supportive. Prices vary greatly but are generally very high, ranging from €2,000 to €15,000.

If this benchmark allowed us to better understand the challenges of a product deployment, we considered that the cost charged by these agencies was not adapted to the budget of a startup like ours. Unable to work with an agency paid solely for success, we decided to insource this work.

The joker: Call a friend

We then sought advice from start-ups who may have had an experience similar to ours.

Shapeheart , a start-up passed through our Le Tremplin incubator, markets an armband with a detachable magnetic pouch and an integrated heart rate sensor to practice a sporting activity in complete peace and freedom.

During our discussion with Michael, his first advice was to definitely not go through an agency given our brand and especially the fact that we only have a single product.

His second piece of advice was to pay attention to our keywords for our SEO. He explained to us that Google and Amazon work on the same algorithms, and that we would only have to use our website SEO for our Amazon store.

The Amazon store is a real showcase. Like a shop window, it must be neat and highlight the products. Our photos then did not meet Amazon's requirements. Michael advised us to call on designers to 3D model our product.

Finally, Michael told us some figures on the importance of Amazon in their business. Shapeheart makes the majority of its sales on Amazon, although its traffic mainly comes from its website. This difference is explained by the trust customers have in Amazon. He therefore advised us to insert the link to our Amazon store on our eshop.

This step was decisive, because it allowed us to know how to launch our store. No agency, but a team motivated to make this launch a success and the advice of entrepreneurs was our only tools!

How to put your product online on Amazon?

After creating your seller account, subscribing to the program that suits you and choosing the right product category, all you have to do is put the product online.

If this is not already the case, you must provide your product with a unique identification number, the GTIN. To do this, it is necessary to join GS1, the price of which varies depending on the turnover of your company.

See the price table:

At the same time, you must create your Amazon store . To do this, your brand will need to be registered with the Amazon Brand Registry. Amazon will need to ensure your brand is eligible. To do this you will need to fill in some information about your brand and its intellectual property. Please note, to be able to register your brand, it must absolutely be registered on the government website of your city or region.

Next comes putting the product online. After selecting the appropriate product category, you will need to fill in the basic information about your brand and your product: product name, its identifier (GTIN code), your brand name and the name of the manufacturer. Next, you will need to indicate the offer you are offering for this product: price, condition, delivery channel, etc.

Finally, you will need to upload your product photos. We decided to do them ourselves, at a lower cost. For this we used a personal camera. For the shooting, we chose to do it outdoors; because there were more lights than inside our premises. However, we do not recommend it, as you risk being bothered by the wind, people coming and going around you, etc. We advise you to purchase a flash or continuous light. There is something for all budgets.

Finally, our designer took care of the modifications related to the light as well as the standardization of the background using the Photoshop tool.

Before :

After :

The boundaries of the white sheets were erased to make the background uniform, and the brightness modified so that the product stood out.

Finally, ensure SEO optimization to facilitate searches. There are many articles covering the topic, we don't have the experience to give additional advice, but keep in mind that this is one of the most crucial elements of your launch.

Another important issue is collecting customer reviews. Behind an order, there is a customer and therefore a possible opinion on the store. It is therefore in your best interest to have a top-notch customer experience! This is what will determine the choice of future buyers. But how to generate the first sales, necessary for the first reviews? At Footbar, we have chosen to offer a 20% discount to first-time buyers who leave us a positive review on our Amazon store. Do you want to benefit from this reduction? Contact us at camille@footbar.com .

6 tips from Footbar for opening your store

Our choice was therefore to start from scratch and internalize the launch of the store. We underestimated the number of possible obstacles and the slowness of Amazon's customer service in fixing them. It took a total of almost 3 months before our store was finally functional.

The key steps are:

• Defining your goals. Why do you want to be on Amazon?
• Registration for Amazon's fulfillment program. In addition to being freed from all the tasks of sending products and after-sales service, you benefit from access to “Amazon prime”. This is an aspect that should not be overlooked because 150 million customers are subscribed worldwide.
• Creating your showcase. A pretty store, solid product sheets thanks to your SEO research and stunning photos are the key to success.
• Obtaining customer reviews very quickly. Your communications plan may be the solution to recruiting them.
• Inserting the link to your Amazon store on your shop. People have more trust in a multinational they have known for years than in you. We know, it's not fair.
• We had no interest in going through an agency, particularly because we have a unique product. If, on the other hand, you are in a hurry or do not have internal resources to deploy on the project, this may prove essential.

When to do without Amazon for a B2C launch?

Amazon is a no-brainer for a large number of retailers. It allows you to reach millions of consumers in one click. But Amazon is not essential for a B2C launch, and as proof, many retail companies do without it, such as large textile companies (Zara, H&M), DIY and decoration stores (Gifi, Leroy Merlin ), etc. But not only that, B2C start-ups have also succeeded, like Cheerz. The reference photo printing site, created in 2012, raised funds of 6 million euros in 2015, and resold 80% of its shares to Cewe for a total amount of 36 million euros in 2017. A great development for a retail start-up that has not moved to Amazon.

For Amazon to be beneficial for your business and for the platform to provide real added value, it must be relevant taking into account your market, the consumption habits of your buyers as well as your product. For example, if you sell equipment for the elderly and therefore your target represents people over 70, Amazon may not be for you. In 2018, only 26% of people over 70 bought online, compared to 84% for 18-24 year olds according to Statista.

But be careful, consumption patterns are changing very quickly, so stay tuned and check back from time to time to find out if it's time for you to switch to Amazon. According to Satista, on Amazon alone, the number of visits quintupled between 2016 and 2019.

We hope that this feedback will be useful to you, we will update it in the weeks following the launch in order to provide more complete feedback. In the meantime, if you want to take advantage of our introductory discount for you or your loved ones, do not hesitate to contact camille@footbar.com!