Why Should Purpose-Led Brands Consider Amazon in 2023?

Amazon is a retail giant; it has dominated the online marketplace for well over a decade. And, in the 21st Century, a business of Amazon’s size typically has a complicated track record. This problematic past has triggered many sustainable brands to turn their back on Amazon and either focus on their own D2C channel or turn to e-tailers with strong social and environmental ethics. It’s fair to say that there are convincing arguments for and against listing on Amazon, but no matter which stance you take it’s difficult to deny that Amazon is an unstoppable force – an immovable outlet.

For a smaller brand, the prospects of being discovered and growing your business are large and compelling.

For a more established brand, taking back control of your identity on Amazon will be a key concern.

Those factors play an important role in why purpose-led brands have decided to join Amazon. These are decisions that won’t have been made lightly and if it wasn’t for the growth in Amazon’s sustainability commitments, they probably wouldn’t have been made at all. Amazon has the ability to make a huge dent in our environmental efforts, so its commitment to sustainability is absolutely necessary.

In 2019, Amazon co-founded The Climate Pledge with Global Optimism – a pact to meet the targets of the Paris Climate Accords ten years early by becoming net-zero carbon by 2040. These efforts have also involved investing in renewable energy projects, up to 206 worldwide, making them the biggest corporate buyer of renewable energy sources in Europe.*

Advancements in Amazon’s sustainability endeavours have drawn their attention to making their marketplace more appealing to sustainable brands. Their Climate Pledge Friendly program* was set up to make climate-positive products more discoverable to their eco-conscious shoppers. Amazon’s newfound care and attention toward purpose-led brands make the marketplace a more suitable channel for these businesses.

This doesn’t eradicate the long-standing issues that Amazon has when it comes to climate and social responsibility, but it’s hard to deny that these changes will have a positive benefit and will hopefully lead the way for other big businesses to do the same.

But it still begs the question… what will purpose-led brands get out of being on Amazon?

Well, for one Amazon is the biggest online marketplace in the UK. 93% of UK online shoppers bought from Amazon in 2021*, and with consumer trends heavily leaning towards online retail, it’s safe to say your customers are online and on the hunt for your products. Catering for your customers via your own D2C channel is an excellent and personal way to connect with your online shoppers, but the drive towards Amazon is due to the seamless convenience of their service. Next-day delivery and competitive prices are near impossible for smaller/independent businesses to compete with on their own.

To balance this argument, a point can be made that Amazon is encouraging over-consumption, which is terrible for our planet, and often why purpose-led brands decide to turn away from Amazon. However, as the popularity of your small business grows, so is the likelihood that re-sellers will begin to populate Amazon without your knowledge or consent. These re-sellers can be as irresponsible as they like with your listings, such as using wrong product titles, unattractive imagery, or incorrect/outdated branding. The existence of these third parties makes it a necessary step to sign onto Amazon’s Brand Registry once you start, so getting ahead of this certainty will save you a headache later on.

Our argument isn’t simply “if you can’t beat them, join them”, we all have the right to make decisions that align with our businesses’ ethics and morals. And every sustainable brand on Amazon has the responsibility to ensure that the platform keeps to its sustainability promises and remains socially ethical.

Nevertheless, as Amazon continues to make its platform more accommodating for Climate Friendly brands, purpose-led businesses have a real opportunity to increase their brand awareness and reach a whole new pool of eco-conscious shoppers. And quite honestly, there has never been a better time to list your products on Amazon.

If you’re considering starting your Amazon journey, but are unsure where to begin, then feel free to send us a note via contactus@thepurposeled.com. We can discuss with you what this process will look like, and how we can best support you throughout the process and ensure your growth on the platform is sustainable.

References/Useful Links

*Amazon Delivers On Its Sustainability Commitments And Then Some (forbes.com)

*Amazon.co.uk: Climate Pledge Friendly

*UK online shoppers lockdown consumer polling: Pattern (practicology.com)