SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) today introduced the Amazon Small Business Awards and announced that nominations are now open. The Amazon Small Business Awards will celebrate inspiring and unique American small businesses selling in Amazon’s stores, recognizing small businesses across three categories: Small Business of the Year, Woman-Owned Small Business of the Year, and Small Business Owner Under 30 of the Year. Small businesses with an active Amazon Seller or Vendor account are encouraged to nominate their business for the awards here: www.amazon.com/small-business-awards-nomination. Nominations close at 11:59pm PDT on Sunday, October 6.
Winners from each category will receive a prize package including six months of dedicated Amazon Seller or Vendor account management, Amazon search advertising credits, promotion on Amazon.com, and a trip to Amazon’s Seattle headquarters to meet with senior leaders and account managers. Winners will be announced later this year.
“We want to see small businesses across the country thriving like never before. We are committed to helping them harness the power of online sales, reach new customers, and provide fantastic selection, value, and convenience,” said Nicholas Denissen, Amazon Vice President of Small Business. “The purpose of these awards is to showcase what the most successful small businesses are doing right as a model for others to learn from.”
All nominations will be evaluated according to the following criteria:
- Small business story: Which businesses have the most inspiring origin story and company vision?
- Customer centricity: Which businesses demonstrate true customer obsession?
- Product selection and value: Which businesses have the most unique products that address customer needs in an innovative way?
Finalists will be announced in mid-October. Amazon customers with a valid Amazon.com account will then select the winner by voting for their favorite nominee in each category. Customers must be signed into their Amazon.com account in order to cast their vote.
“As retail and digital business evolves, small and medium-sized businesses embracing digital transformation are nearly twice as likely to see double digit revenue growth,” said Shari Lava, Research Director, Small and Medium Business at IDC. “Small and medium firms that successfully leverage strategic partners like Amazon are leading the way, reaching more customers, and growing their online sales.”
On average, U.S.-based small and medium-sized businesses sell more than 4,000 items per minute in Amazon’s stores. Independent third-party sellers – primarily small and medium-sized businesses – made up 58% of all physical gross merchandise sold in Amazon’s stores in 2018 and their sales far exceeded $2 billion on Prime Day in July this year. These businesses have created an estimated 1.6 million jobs worldwide.
In August, Amazon announced 150 tools and services have launched since the beginning of the year to help independent small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) grow their sales online, which is part of the more than $15 billion Amazon is on track to invest this year in SMBs. The company also hosts a variety of events to educate small and medium-sized business selling partners, including Amazon Academy events across Europe and the new Selling Partner Summits across the U.S. The new Selling Partner Summits are a series of six conferences designed to help selling partners grow their business in Amazon’s stores.
Amazon last year created Amazon Storefronts, a store for customers to shop exclusively from U.S.-based small and medium-sized businesses selling in Amazon’s stores. With Storefronts, customers can shop a curated collection of over one million products and deals from nearly 20,000 U.S.-based small and medium-sized businesses, and learn more about profiled businesses through featured videos and stories.
To learn more about the millions of small and medium-sized businesses selling in Amazon’s stores, visit: aboutamazon.com/supporting-small-businesses.
About Amazon
Amazon is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping, personalized recommendations, Prime, Fulfillment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Fire tablets, Fire TV, Amazon Echo, and Alexa are some of the products and services pioneered by Amazon. For more information, visit www.amazon.com/about and follow @AmazonNews.
