First Prime Day post-Covid to reveal winners and losers of the pandemic

NEW YORK, Sept. 29, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Amazon, the nation's largest online marketplace, has finally announced 13^th and 14^th October for its highly anticipated Prime Day. It was forced to postpone the event in June, as pandemic-related disruption to global supply chains caused warehouse strains and product availability issues around the world.

The sales extravaganza, which has grown into a 48 hour global phenomenon spanning 18 countries, is a pivotal moment for marketplace sellers ? last year, record-breaking sales of over $7 billion surpassed Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined, with marketplace sellers clearing $2.29 billion.

Post-pandemic, the online marketplace has become the new virtual mall, presenting a lifeline opportunity for retailers to grow their business in a recessionary market. A huge 1.1 million sellers are expected to join Amazon by the end of the year.

There is no denying that Amazon has become synonymous with e-commerce, especially in the US, where the giant now dominates nearly 50 percent of the e-commerce market, remarks Ning Wang, Co-Founder and Chief Business Officer at global payments unicorn ($1.1bn) PingPong Payments: "This will be a make or break event for some Amazon sellers. This delayed Prime Day gives merchants a window of opportunity to catapult into the lead in the run up to the festive season, with the first major online sales event post-Covid. A huge 82 percent of US households have a Prime membership, which gives sellers a unique opportunity to tap into a dedicated 150 million strong, and counting, network of shoppers who are committed to the platform ? a dream scenario for any e-tailer."

There is a growing appetite for international expansion, says Ning, as the number of high growth cross-border sellers increased 25 percent this year: "For cross-border merchants, Amazon Prime Day has long been one of the most important events of the year. Selling cross-border, however, presents a golden opportunity that is largely untapped in the US market ? only 32 percent of the top 500 Amazon merchants currently sell internationally. The ultimate Amazon cross-border seller can expose their products to an audience of half a billion consumers around the world, and reach over 170 countries. Taking advantage of growth markets abroad is hugely valuable to maximizing seller profits, especially considering 85 percent of the world's purchasing power falls outside the US, with the likes of global spending superpowers such as the UK, Germany, China and Japan."

On a platform that is endlessly seeking to increase its product offerings, the competitive climate is at an all-time high, comments Ning: "Amazon Marketplace sellers account for an astonishing 350 million product listings in total, which can be a very daunting environment for sellers. In order to stand-out, capitalize on the e-commerce boom and maximize sales this Amazon Prime Day, it is vital sellers become more strategic. Fast growth e-commerce sellers know to prepare for Prime Day months in advance, by reinforcing inventory operations and addressing the turmoil caused by Covid-19. By having the right network of partners in place ahead of time, sellers can avoid disrupted supply chains and dreaded stock shortages at critical moments. Partnering with the right cross-border payment companies, that specialize in convenient quick money transfers, can help merchants instantly move money to all corners of the world ? from collecting international marketplace payments, to ensuring overseas suppliers are paid on time. This saves online sellers precious time and money ? crucially allowing more to be invested in important optimizations, such as effective fulfilment strategies."

SOURCE PingPong Payments