There are more than 500,000 U.S. small-to-mid size businesses selling their products on the Amazon.com platform. These businesses sold 3.8 billion products (7,400 every minute) and averaged more than $200,000 in annual sales, up 17.6% year-over-year. (2021 – Amazon Small Business Empowerment Report)

Over 300 hundred million customers shop for products online through Amazon. This makes it the top U.S. online sales portal for small business owners, but it also makes it one of the most difficult places to stand out.

As an ecommerce platform, businesses can take advantage of selling to Amazon consumers (B2C), as well as directly to businesses (B2B). To a shopper, it always appears as if they are purchasing through Amazon.com, since the entire purchasing and checkout experience occurs on its domain.

One feature to help businesses stand out is Amazon’s Seller Certification for supplier diversity, which allows sellers to add socio-economic designations to their business profile. Shoppers can then use filters when looking for specific types of businesses to support.

These are businesses identified as small, minority, woman, veteran, and LGBT-owned. Amazon only recognizes approved third-party certification agencies such as the SBA or VA for programs including 8(a) for small disadvantaged businesses, HUBZone, woman-owned, or veteran-owned businesses.

“Through our credentialed seller program, customers purchasing on Amazon Business can easily search for selling partners based on the diversity certifications they’re interested in or are required by law to support. This not only accelerates our selling partners’ ability to grow across sectors, but it also levels the playing field for them to reach new customers without spending valuable resources,” Anne Rung, Director, Public Sector, Amazon Business.

Certification Benefits for Small Businesses that Sell on Amazon

Your products are more likely to appear in searches because customers can specify they only want to view products from diversity-certified small businesses, including specific preferences such as women or veteran-owned businesses.
Government agencies and prime contractors have policies supporting small businesses vendors, particularly diversity requirements. For example, the federal government’s acquisition budget goal for small businesses is 23% of total award spending.
Local small businesses like to support other diverse local small businesses. The Amazon platform allows users the ability to easily find diversity-certified businesses that meet those requirements.
The federal government’s micro-purchase threshold is $10,000 for single purchases (GSA Smart Pay credit card) allowing for awards without solicitation for competitive quotes as long as the contracting officer believes the price to be reasonable.
The Amazon platform is highly trafficked and provides training and support for ease-of-use on its platform.
Amazon remains top among online shoppers in terms of visits. Your products appear in front of millions of potential buyers who might otherwise never interact with your business.

Are you thinking about selling products on Amazon or already have an account? Do you want to make the most of it? Amazon’s Seller Credentials program can help you get your products in front of more people.

Amazon’s aim is to connect sellers with diversity certifications to buyers with diversity spend goals.

In the federal marketplace these certifications help businesses win “small business set-asides.”

Participation in the small business contracting assistance programs requires a formal certification process. FedBiz Access has 21 years of experience working with companies to help them win business by ensuring their registrations and certifications are current, complete, and compliant.