SEATTLE — Amazon CEO Andy Jassy declared that the company’s work with independent sellers represents “the most compelling and substantial collaboration in the history of retail,” as he addressed thousands of entrepreneurs and small business owners at the annual Accelerate seller conference this week.
In a fireside chat with Dharmesh Mehta, Amazon’s vice president of Worldwide Selling Partner Services, Jassy said the decision to open the platform to outside merchants reinvented both Amazon’s business model and the consumer shopping experience.
“I think our collaboration is probably the most compelling and substantial collaboration in the history of retail,” Jassy said. “If you think about the union of all the independent sellers and Amazon, and all the consumers that we have, what we’ve made possible for consumers—the selection they have, the low prices they have, the delivery speed that they have—there’s really been nothing like it.”
According to Jassy, the average seller on Amazon grossed more than $295,000 in annual sales last year, while 55,000 sellers surpassed $1 million. He highlighted Charleston-based small business Lillie’s of Charleston as an example of the opportunity the marketplace creates. After pivoting during the pandemic to focus on Amazon, the family-run sauce and spice company increased sales by 156%.
Jassy also pointed to artificial intelligence as the next driver of transformation for the seller community. Tools such as Seller Assistant, Enhance My Listing, and A+ Content, he said, will make it even easier for sellers to expand selection, improve listings, and reach customers.
“I think what we're doing together is very unusual,” Jassy said. “The transformation that we're seeing with AI is going to make it even easier and more compelling for you all to be able to sell and for us to collectively be successful together, and I'm really appreciative that we're on this adventure together. I still think it's very early days.”
