Amazon launched its European Expansion Accelerator (EEA) as a strategic move to accelerate sellers’ expansion across diverse markets in Europe. It has been designed to help businesses navigate the different regulatory, logistical, and cultural landscapes. The theory is that a program like EEA could make it far simpler to grow your business across a continental scale.
So, here is the European Expansion Accelerator explained:
What is the European Expansion Accelerator?
EEA is an innovative system that simplifies Amazon sellers’ entry into European markets by providing tools, resources, and support that help them with the barriers to international expansion such as language, and local regulations, and distribution.
With the help of EEA, sellers looking to diversify their presence in European markets can streamline their listing procedures on EU platforms, reaching millions of customers.
Who qualifies for EEA?
The EEA program’s eligibility criteria allow any existing Amazon seller who is a Professional Selling Partner with at least one active European account. They have a track record of sales and success, along with the necessary logistics.
If a seller doesn’t have an Amazon Europe account, it can be easily set up:
- Log into Seller Central account
- Go to the ‘Sell Globally’ page from the Inventory tab
- Follow the steps to create a European selling account
EEA can prove to be the easy-to-navigate gateway you always wanted before starting your international expansion.
How does the European Expansion Accelerator work?
The European Expansion Accelerator works by delivering a multipurpose suite of services to sellers such as dedicated support, logistics solutions like Amazon Fulfillment Network, and localized marketing that helps their products meet the tastes and demands of European consumers.
The ease of interconnecting standalone Amazon tools (List-Once-Sell Globally, Build International Listings, etc.) effectively means sellers no longer have to navigate multiple applications, saving time as they work to expand their businesses in EU markets.
Benefits of the European Expansion Accelerator
Sellers registered under the EEA program enjoy perks like easier access to European markets; support navigating the complexities of VAT and other regulatory requirements; preferential visibility across Amazon’s European websites and a potential for increased sales and branding. These factors lead to an array of upsides:
#1: Opening newer revenue streams
With the help of EEA, sellers can do business on several marketplaces side-by-side. This prevents the sellers from being overly dependent on one country which can cause damage when there is some geopolitical event or market instability.
#2: Time-saving & affordable
The multifaceted functions of Amazon EEA take care of most of the procedures required to enter the EU markets. This reduces a significant amount of effort and time for the seller, making the process hassle-free and letting the seller focus on crucial things like product development and customer engagement.
#3: Scalability made easy
By providing options to choose between different expansion strategies, EEA offers flexibility to the growing sellers. They can easily decide to scale up one store at a time or target all the EU and UK marketplaces simultaneously. This feature allows for a more balanced alignment of the seller’s strategy and execution.
#4: Increasing business reach
Providing access to 9 EU marketplaces, Amazon EEA increases the seller’s overall reach throughout the continent. An increased market reach leads to heightened brand visibility and newer revenue channels for the seller.
Things to keep in mind before joining
Sellers looking to expand to Europe need to consider fundamentals like product compatibility. Fulfillment is likely to be an issue, so they must familiarize themselves with the local regulations and business culture. The program offers logistical and local marketing solutions, of course, but even with those, there will surely need to be some work to adapt a seller’s product to meet local tastes and standards. Keep these factors in mind while expanding your business through EEA:
#1: EEA has automated translations
Being a continent with a variety of different languages, it is quite difficult to convey everything on European marketplaces. Luckily, Amazon EEA provides automated translation services to make your work easier. But make sure to consult human translator(s) with relevant knowledge about the language and culture to adjust your Amazon listing optimization to remove any kind of confusion.
#2: Figuring out shipment options
The easiest way you can resolve shipment-related issues is by using Amazon’s FBA service which caters to the 9 EU countries. But if you want to do it yourself, you’ll have to team up with a third-party logistics partner working in your preferred countries to ship your products well.
#3: Learning about the regulations
EEA possesses a few capabilities that can help you set up your shop in Europe. However, it is the sole responsibility of the seller to take care of the country-specific guidelines and taxation procedures. Try to learn as much as you can about them and keep yourself updated so no red tape hinders your growth. Remember, you are selling across several countries, so many rules can differ drastically based on the different nations you’ll sell in.
#4: Running ads in different countries
Start from the basics each time you expand into a new country. To win over customers in various European nations, you’ll need to run different ad campaigns in different marketplaces. This means your ad budgets should be set keeping these plans in mind.
#5: Choosing marketplaces carefully
EEA makes it easy to add all 9 EU marketplaces at once. But when your brand reaches millions of customers across different cultures, and languages simultaneously, it becomes a little hectic to manage the business efficiently. While selling, you also need to be savvy with the different laws, tax structures, etc. That’s why you can choose to sell in fewer, or even one country when starting.
How to get started with EEA?
If you’re an Amazon seller interested in expanding into Europe with EEA and you meet the above eligibility criteria, you can learn more about the program and get started by determining if your business is ready to expand to Europe, understanding the requirements and benefits of EEA’s support, and applying through Amazon Seller Central services.
Simply log into your Seller Central account, go to the Inventory section, and select “Sell Globally.” You can choose the countries you want to expand to in this section. You choose the countries, click on “Start Expansion” and agree to the terms for international selling. This simplifies the process of expansion to a routine that is surprisingly accessible, at least for sellers looking to branch out into Europe.
Conclusion
As Amazon’s press release makes clear, the entirely plausible suggestion has been made that the entire European Union could rank as a single market for sales and commerce if it were all standardized. Amazon’s European Expansion Accelerator opens up exactly these kinds of opportunities for sellers looking to make the leap to European markets; with the correct preparation through effective Amazon marketing services and the use of EEA’s support and resources, sellers could find themselves in a whole new world of growth.