Amazon Prime launched in Australia
Amazon has long been expanding its horizons to new markets and to new countries. Things are just heating up in Australia, a place where Amazon has recently started investing a lot of its time and money. Now that Amazon Prime has launched in Australia, it’s time to invest Down Under in a move that could spark a huge evolution in your business and your profit margins.
The Launch
When Amazon launched in Australia late last fall, it did so without much fanfare. There were huge expectations for the online retail giant as it dove into a market where eBay was already thriving. But without much marketing from Amazon on the launch and with it lacking many of the features that made Amazon so successful in the United States, the company failed to gain much traction in the first few months.
Particularly missed was Amazon Prime, Amazon’s biggest and most successful program. There were rumors that Prime would be on its way, but nothing concrete. The lack of communication on Prime and the media’s focus on why Amazon was bound to fail gave sellers a lot of pause in why Australia was something worth their time and resources.
Phil Leahy is the principal of Retail Global, an event tailored for online sellers which focuses on Australia and helping cross-border sellers.
Retail Global is the number one event in Australia for online sellers and has been appearing in America for four years now.
The event will be taking place this year at Planet Hollywood, Las Vegas October 9-11.
Leahy agrees that Amazon is just scratching the surface of something great in Australia.
“Amazon launched [in Australia] but Amazon didn’t say much about the launch,” Leahy recalls. “There was a lot of expectation due to the press buildup, saying that retail would change overnight in Australia. That’s because it takes time for Amazon to get sellers onto the platform and for products to get onto the platform.”
There was minimal upward movement in Australia between the launch and today, with the number of sellers increasing from around 5,000 to 15,000 per Leahy. But without Prime, sellers weren’t chomping at the bit to relocate or expand their businesses.
In fact, people took to social media in bunches to proclaim their disappointment with Amazon’s prices and selection. They all expected something more to come. Now, we have that something.
Prime Arrives – Amazon Prime launched in Australia
On Monday, Amazon announced what we’ve all been waiting to hear; Prime will begin in Australia in earnest. Amazon’s keystone program has allowed it to be successful all over the world. With it, sellers in Australia will start to thrive.
Here are the direct benefits for Prime members in Australia, according to Business Insider:
Prime members in Australia will get free delivery on millions of local and international items, access to exclusive and award-winning Prime Original series and other popular movies and TV shows with Prime Video, access to more than 1,000 e-books with Prime Reading, benefits for gamers with Twitch Prime, and access to discounted priority delivery.
Prime starts here with a 30-day free trial, then $6.99 a month, or save 30% with an annual payment of $59. But until the end of January 2019, the price is discounted to $4.99 a month.
The arrival of Prime should really kickstart a dormant market that was seemingly waiting for this moment. Leahy predicts that Amazon will really start to advertise itself over there now that its ducks are in a row.
“Once [Prime launches], you can expect that Amazon will really put its foot on the pedal,” Leahy says.
Why Invest Your Business in Australia?
When Amazon first dropped in Australia and failed to make much noise, the press was quick to point out that Australians are much more devoted into their local bookstores than Americans are. They concluded that the difference in shopping habits would make Amazon unsuccessful Down Under by default.
However, C.J. Rosenbaum, Founder and CEO of Rosenbaum Famularo, P.C. and Amazon Sellers’ Lawyer, doesn’t see a big difference between consumers in the two regions.
“What you have [in Australia] is a humongous population of affluent consumers with very similar buying habits to Americans,” Rosenbaum says. “What we anticipate is that it’s going to explode over the next 1-2 years, and we think that sellers should get into Australia now so that they build up reviews and traction. Because right now there’s very little competition. There are very little sellers over there. So if you get enmeshed, you’re going to get the buy box.”
Leahy agrees that Amazon is bound to explode in Australia due to the success that its biggest competitor, eBay, has had in the region.
“eBay has basically got 25% of the market down in Australia and has enjoyed a time for a number of years without any real competition,” Leahy says. “It was just the expectation that once Amazon launched it would succeed which was not the case.”
With Amazon officially establishing itself in Australia, the company has created warehouses for third party sellers to utilize for their products. Even if you don’t live in Australia, you can utilize those warehouses to store products and sell to that market. With Prime now in place, those customers will be much more likely to shop from Amazon and buy your products in Amazon’s warehouses.
Amazon has been gearing up to add more third party sellers to the Australian market. Chinese sellers already account for around half of the sellers in Australia, according to Leahy. Amazon opened up the Australian marketplace to Indian sellers back in April as well.
The competition is going to get stiffer, so the sooner you act and get started selling in Australia, the sooner you can establish yourself in the market and gain a loyal following of consumers waiting to buy your products. Before Prime arrived, Australia was merely an investment. Now you can start to really turn some profits for your company in ways that you couldn’t have even a few weeks ago.
Amazon Prime launched in Australia – Conclusion
Amazon is about to become a big deal in Australia.
With all of the money at the company’s hands, it will only become better for sellers over time. It’s already in good shape now with Prime having just arrived there, but benefits will continue to arrive once Amazon really starts to allocate its resources into making things more efficient there.
While you may not see the immediate profits to your business that you might see from selling in America, the biggest benefit to your business is investing in the future and making inroads in a country with millions of consumers very similar to Americans in their buying habits. Consider this to be a new beginning for your company, whether big or small.
Rosenbaum agrees that you shouldn’t be discouraged if things don’t start off with a bang immediately, but take the time and the investment will be worth your while.
“You’re not going to make a ton of money right now, but you’re going to make a ton of inroads for the future.”
Anders is a content creator for Rosenbaum Famularo, P.C., the law firm behind AmazonSellersLawyer.com.
Anders will be earning his degree in journalism from Hofstra and has five years of professional journalism experience. He has written for numerous online and print publications including SB Nation and The Hofstra Chronicle.