Amazon’s New Direction: Partnering with Brands Beyond Amazon.com

#Ecommerce #Amazon #DirectToConsumer #BuyWithPrime #Logistics #CustomerExperience

For years, Amazon has been synonymous with its own marketplace—a juggernaut where consumers shop and brands compete to win the coveted Buy Box. But something different is happening. Amazon is no longer just focused on drawing traffic to its platform; it’s doubling down on services that empower brands to sell directly on their own websites. I feel this sentiment might be due to the marketshare that has been growing in other areas such as social commerce, other non- amazon etailers, and individual brand owned .com websites. I remember the days when Amazon would never drive traffic off platform, and would refrain from helping other platforms become more seamless. The sentiment has been shifting for about a year now, and continues to head in that overall direction. Amazon has been on the "if you can't beat them, join them mindset".

Let’s take a closer look at the signals:

• Buy with Prime: This tool allows brands to bring Amazon’s seamless shopping experience—fast shipping, easy checkout, and trust—to their own .com sites. Consumers can shop with the same confidence they do on Amazon, while brands maintain control over their customer relationships.
• Login with Amazon: A subtle but powerful feature. By letting customers use their Amazon credentials to log in on a brand’s site, it removes friction and adds trust. For brands, it means less cart abandonment, more conversions, and data-driven insights into their customer base.
• Amazon Logistics and Shipping: Once just a behind-the-scenes powerhouse, Amazon is now openly offering its shipping capabilities to brands operating outside the marketplace. Whether you’re shipping from your own warehouse or a 3PL, Amazon wants to handle the heavy lifting and ensure your customers get their products quickly.

Additional Services for .com Websites

Amazon has been expanding its suite of services tailored for companies running their own .com websites. These services enhance the customer experience, streamline operations, and integrate Amazon’s infrastructure with brands’ direct-to-consumer (DTC) efforts:

1. Amazon Multi-Channel Fulfillment (MCF) Amazon’s fulfillment network isn’t just for marketplace orders anymore. With MCF, brands can store inventory in Amazon’s warehouses and ship orders from their .com websites or other sales channels (e.g., Walmart, Shopify). Benefits include fast delivery times, inventory synchronization, and access to Amazon’s negotiated shipping rates.
2. Amazon Pay Amazon Pay allows customers to check out on a brand’s website using their Amazon account. It simplifies the checkout process, reduces cart abandonment, and builds consumer confidence without redirecting traffic to Amazon’s marketplace.
3. Amazon Web Services (AWS) for E-Commerce AWS offers tools specifically designed for e-commerce sites, including personalization services, fraud detection, and scalable data storage. Brands can use these to build a better customer experience and streamline backend operations.
4. Amazon Advertising Solutions for Off-Amazon Campaigns Amazon’s ad tools, such as the Demand-Side Platform (DSP), let brands run programmatic ads across the web, driving traffic to their own .com websites. Features include retargeting and leveraging Amazon’s vast network of premium ad placements.
5. Prime Video for Brands Some brands are leveraging Amazon's Prime Video services to host and distribute branded content or instructional videos. This can enhance customer engagement and loyalty on their own websites.
6. Amazon Customer Reviews Integration Amazon enables brands to showcase verified reviews and ratings from their Amazon listings directly on their .com websites, building trust and credibility.
7. Amazon CloudFront for Website Performance CloudFront, Amazon’s content delivery network, helps e-commerce sites load faster by distributing content globally. Faster sites often result in higher conversion rates.
8. Marketplace Web Service (MWS) Integration MWS tools help brands integrate their own websites with Amazon’s systems for inventory management, order fulfillment, and tracking.
9. Transparency Program Amazon’s Transparency Program protects brands from counterfeiters by enabling serialized codes to authenticate products sold on their .com websites, ensuring customer confidence.
10. Alexa Voice Shopping Integration Brands can integrate with Amazon Alexa to enable voice commerce, allowing customers to place orders or check product availability on their .com sites using voice commands.

Why This Matters

This shift isn’t just about Amazon diversifying its revenue streams (though that’s certainly part of it). It’s a recognition that today’s consumer journey isn’t one-size-fits-all. Shoppers want the flexibility to buy directly from the brands they love while still enjoying the convenience Amazon has trained them to expect.

For brands, this opens up incredible opportunities. You can keep your direct relationships with customers, grow your email lists, and build loyalty—all while leveraging Amazon’s logistics, payments, and tech expertise. It’s a win-win—if you play it right.

What’s Next?

Amazon’s focus here feels strategic. Although it is true that sales are flowing through other channels, Amazon continues to win with the volume of data they will be using from other services they are offering. Amazon knows that the future of e-commerce isn’t just about dominating its own marketplace. It’s about embedding itself into every aspect of the online shopping ecosystem. By offering services like Buy with Prime and logistics for .com websites, Amazon is becoming the infrastructure powering e-commerce everywhere.

For us as e-commerce professionals, the challenge is to figure out how to use these tools without losing what makes our brands unique. There’s a balancing act between leveraging Amazon’s scale and preserving our independence.

This shift is a big opportunity for brands that know how to adapt. The question is: Are we ready to meet the moment?

Let me know your thoughts—how are you thinking about using Amazon’s off-marketplace tools for your business? Have you tried Buy with Prime or integrated their logistics into your operations? I’d love to hear what’s working and what’s not.