HBR On Strategy

Should Your Business Sell on Amazon?

Jun 26, 2024

Hear Harvard Business School associate professor Ayelet Israeli discuss the pros and cons of selling on Amazon. Topics include costs, competition, data challenges, brand strategies, and the decision-making process for leveraging the Amazon marketplace.

30:06

Episode guests

Ayelet Israeli

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Episode notes

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Quick takeaways

Consider the downsides of selling on Amazon: costs, competition, and limited data access.

Maintain brand identity and loyalty while balancing Amazon presence with direct-to-consumer channels.

Deep dives

Considerations for Selling on Amazon

Selling on Amazon presents a dilemma for brands due to its reach and dominance in e-commerce. Despite its vast customer base, there are downsides including costs, increased competition, and limited access to customer data. Harvard Business School associate professor Ayelet Israeli provides a scorecard to help businesses evaluate if the Amazon Marketplace aligns with their objectives by considering factors like profit margins, product category commoditization, and shipping complexities.

Intro

3min

Selling on Amazon: Challenges and Considerations for Brands

15min

Considering Data Implications of Selling on Amazon

3min

Brand Strategies on Amazon

10min

Promotions, Gratitude, and Sponsorship

2min

It’s a dilemma facing more and more brands: Should your business sell on Amazon?

It’s the most visited e-commerce platform in the U.S. and the dominant retailer in 28 other countries. But that reach comes at a price. Harvard Business School associate professor Ayelet Israeli says there are downsides for many Amazon sellers, like costs, competition, and the lack of data.

In this episode, Israeli offers a scorecard that can help you decide, step by step, whether or not the Amazon marketplace is right for your business.

Key episode topics include: strategy, innovation, leadership, scaling, Jeff Bezos, long-term thinking, customer focus.

HBR On Strategy curates the best case studies and conversations with the world’s top business and management experts, to help you unlock new ways of doing business. New episodes every week.

· Listen to the full HBR IdeaCast episode: Why Companies Decide to Sell on Amazon—or Not (2022)

· Find more episodes of HBR IdeaCast

· Discover 100 years of Harvard Business Review articles, case studies, podcasts, and more at HBR.org