Webinar Recap – Marketplace Strategies for Expansion Beyond Amazon US

At our February 6 webinar, Brandwoven CEO, Chris Gray, walked through marketplace expansion strategies, including how to decide when and where to expand. Many brands consider market expansion, whether it be internationally or to other US-based marketplaces like Walmart.com or Target.com. As a topic that has arisen for many brands we’ve partnered with, considering which marketplaces are the best investment for a given product type and audience is an important, yet complex, question to ask. Watch the recording for the full deep dive or keep reading to learn the main takeaways from the webinar.

What We Covered in the Webinar

• Available marketplaces & countries
• Methods of marketplace expansion: Remote fulfillment, SC/VC for each market, etc.
• Benchmarks for marketplace expansion: When is the juice worth the squeeze?
• How to get started

Many brands start with Amazon US, but there are many other marketplaces to consider. Keep reading explore how to expand your brand’s reach by going beyond Amazon US.

The Ecommerce Landscape

Amazon is a major player in ecommerce, accounting for approximately 37.6% of total US ecommerce sales. With operations spanning 30 countries and a robust EU presence of 180 million users, the platform’s global reach extends well beyond domestic borders. 30% of Amazon’s total sales now occur internationally, with Germany emerging as the second-largest market at 7%. While Amazon dominates, other platforms like Walmart and Target also represent large portions of the ecommerce market and are rapidly growing, presenting additional compelling expansion opportunities to brands.

Considerations for Marketplace Expansion

The key to successful expansion is to align your brand’s needs with the right marketplace. Rather than just picking the next biggest marketplace, consider where you can have the most impact with the least amount of effort. Consider the following areas and how the answers align with your brand’s marketplace strategy:

1. Brand Goals: What are you trying to achieve by expanding? Are you looking for new customers or just trying to reach existing customers? Does the marketplace align with your brand image?
2. Effort and Investment: Consider the time and money involved in managing each marketplace. For example, managing Walmart.com may take around 50% of the time and effort as managing Amazon US while the Amazon EU marketplace may take just as much time as Amazon US. Is this something your in-house team can handle, or does it make more sense to partner with a marketplace agency who can manage the expansion on your brand’s behalf?
3. Market Share Opportunities: Which marketplaces are best suited for quick growth in market share given your product category? Look for marketplaces where you can significantly outperform average sales based on category and customer base. For instance, Walmart excels in grocery and CPG while Amazon Japan is strong in consumer electronics and fashion.
4. Audience: Consider whether the marketplace will reach your target customer.

Start with Expansion from Amazon US

If you’re already selling on Amazon US, there are a few quick ways to expand. If using Vendor Central, Amazon may already be exporting and selling your products in other markets. If you’re using FBA, you can easily expand to Canada, Mexico, and Brazil via remote fulfillment.

Marketplace Expansion Strategies

Here is a breakdown of the key marketplaces your brand may be considering expansion into.

Walmart

Walmart is strong in grocery, kitchen, and most CPG products. Additionally, because of its many brick-and-mortar locations, the marketplace is great for selling oversized products (in-store). Walmart’s marketplace is generally growing at a very promising rate and we expect more brands to adopt its platform in the near term, however we should note that it is not ideal for premium brands or hardline products as the Walmart consumer isn’t typically looking for those products.

Another consideration is the newness of the Walmart platform. It hasn’t been as popular as Amazon’s platform for nearly the same amount of time, and in our experience, it can be pretty unstable at times. In other words, the platform is constantly changing (something that can happen on Amazon, too) and can require more attention from brands as a result.

Target

Target is also great for home & kitchen and oversize items (similar to Walmart, the platform offers brick-and-mortar selling opportunities – unlike Amazon). The biggest challenge, by far, with selling on Target.com is gaining entry to the platform. There is a very high barrier to entry as the platform is currently invite-only, being very selective about who can sell on it. As a result, the product offering on Target is more curated and therefore not open to direct import products, like Amazon.

Amazon Canada & Mexico

Amazon Canada & Mexico are easy to integrate with an existing US Amazon business as Amazon offers tools that streamline the expansion process. These platforms are best for selling electronics and kitchen products, along with market-specific products (e.g. handmade Mexican scarves). The main thing to consider before expanding to either of these marketplaces is whether you have a product with a strong demand in these locations.

Amazon Europe

Amazon EU is a large market with a significant (and growing) user base. The biggest challenge is the amount of effort it takes to translate listing content into the different languages of the various EU countries. Additionally, each country’s platform needs to be managed somewhat independently with different currencies, regulatory, and banking concerns to be aware of. Although there is a large opportunity here with its large customer base, we typically only recommend the platform to brands that either have a pre-existing customer base in the EU or strong brand recognition and scalability.

Amazon Japan

Amazon Japan is a strong market for consumer electronics, apparel, and baby products. Similar to Amazon Europe, it requires a unique or existing customer base and strong brand recognition. If your products align with these criteria, it may be worth exploring.

In addition to the Amazon marketplaces listed above, we also support brands on Amazon Australia, Middle East marketplaces, additional South American marketplaces (where we’ll translate your listings into Spanish), and additional Asia-Pacific marketplaces.

Key Takeaways on Marketplace Expansion

Audience & Brand Fit

• Audience: Are you meeting customers where they are already looking for your products?
• Brand: Does the marketplace align with your brand and level of quality? Will your brand message be hindered by the chosen marketplace?

Value of Opportunity

• Scalability: The potential size of the market for your product. Find marketplaces that align with your brand and product.
• Resources: Do you have the resources to manage expansion? For emerging brands, consider if there are easier ways to grow your business rather than investing in new marketplaces (e.g. new product launch, DSP advertising campaigns, or SEO keyword optimization opportunities on your current marketplace).

Conclusion

Expanding beyond Amazon US can offer significant opportunities for growth but requires careful planning and strategic decision-making. Successful expansion takes a sophisticated approach that aligns platform selection with your brand’s operational capabilities and growth objectives. Building a multi-channel business positions your brand for sustained growth in this increasingly competitive global marketplace. By aligning your brand’s needs with the right marketplaces, you can reach new customers, increase sales, and strengthen your online brand presence.

At Brandwoven, we transform marketplace expansion from a complex challenge into a powerful growth driver through data-driven strategy and proven execution. Our team of marketplace specialists has guided brands across diverse categories in optimizing their presence beyond Amazon US, delivering measurable results while maintaining brand integrity across all channels. We are ready to help you navigate the complexities of marketplace expansion with customized solutions that optimize performance. Connect with us to learn how we can help your business grow.