Highlights. Amazon Marketplace vendors sold $480 billion in merchandise in 2023 representing 83.5% of Amazon’s net sales for the year. 

  • The average Amazon Marketplace seller made $230,000 in sales in 2022, up 15.0% year-over-year (YoY).
  • Amazon counts 1.9 million active sellers on Marketplace in 2023, with upwards of 548 new sellers per day.
  • Third-party sellers list nearly 350 million items on Amazon Marketplace and sell an average of 7,800 products per minute.
  • 61% of 2023 unit sales on Amazon were with independent sellers on Marketplace.
  • 300 million shoppers make at least one annual purchase from Amazon Marketplace.

Bar Graph: Amazon Marketplace Gross Merchandise Volume in billions, from 2018 ($160) to 2023 ($480) according to Statista with an estimate for 2024 ($600)

Amazon Marketplace Sales Statistics

Shoppers on Marketplace buy from third-party sellers as opposed to purchasing Amazon products.

  • 30% of Amazon Marketplace sellers make over $60,000 per year.
  • New sellers on Amazon Marketplace make an average of $30,000 in their first year.
  • 48% of Amazon Marketplace Sellers make $1,000 or less per month.
  • 58% of Marketplace sellers turn a profit within their first year of selling.
  • The average small- or medium-sized business (SMB) on Amazon Marketplace makes over $140,000 in annual sales.
  • In 2020 (during COVID-19 lockdowns), Amazon Marketplace SMBs netted over $160,000 in annual sales.

Pie Chart: Amazon Marketplace Seller Profit Margins according to Jungle Scout

Amazon Marketplace Seller Statistics

Amazon allowed third-party sellers to sell directly to consumers starting in 1999.

  • 1.9 million independent businesses sell on Amazon as third-party sellers.
  • 48% of Marketplace businesses are women-owned.
  • The average Marketplace seller spends $5,000 or less to open their store on Amazon; 16% of sellers open their stores for $500 or less. 
  • 200,000 new sellers joined Marketplace in 2020 during COVID-19 lockdowns.
  • SMBs that sell on Marketplace employ more than 1.5 million workers.
  • 60% of all purchases on Amazon are through Marketplace from SMBs.
  • 48% of Amazon Marketplace stores take less than three (3) months to launch.
  • 50% of Marketplace sellers spend 10 hours a week or less working on their Amazon business.
  • Amazon Marketplace businesses ship from over 130 countries.

Pie Chart: Amazon Marketplace Seller Lifetime Profits according to Jungle Scout

U.S. Amazon Marketplace Seller Statistics

Over 500,000 Marketplace sellers are located in the United States.

  • 13% of American Amazon Marketplace sellers made over $100,000 in sales in 2021.
  • 0.54% of Marketplace sellers in the U.S. made over $500,000 in 2021 sales.
  • 0.01% of U.S. Amazon Marketplace Sellers made over $1 million in sales.
  • U.S. Amazon Marketplace sellers exported 260 million products to global buyers in 2022.
  • Wyoming residents are more likely to sell on Amazon Marketplace than residents of any other state.

Pie Chart: Amazon Marketplace Seller Revenue monthly average according to Jungle Scout

Amazon Marketplace Seller Cross-Listing

Many Amazon Marketplace sellers list items on other digital marketplaces to reach a wider audience, including non-Amazon users.

  • 24% of Amazon Marketplace sellers also listed items on eBay in 2022, down 14.3% from 2021 when 28% of marketplace sellers also listed on eBay.
  • 16% of Marketplace sellers also listed items on Shopify in 2022, up 6.67% from 2021 when 15% of sellers listed items on Shopify.
  • 15% of Amazon Marketplace sellers also listed on Walmart Marketplace in 2022, up 25.0% from 2021 when 12% listed with Walmart.
  • 13% of Marketplace sellers also listed on Etsy in 2021 and 2022.
  • 13% of Amazon Marketplace sellers also listed items on Facebook Marketplace in 2022, up 8.33% from 2021 when 12% of Amazon sellers listed on Facebook Marketplace.

Pie Chart: Amazon Marketplace Seller Start-up Costs according to Jungle Scout

Amazon Marketplace Product Statistics

In terms of gross merchandise value (GMV), Amazon is home to the third-largest global online marketplace after Taobao and Tmall.

  • On Amazon Prime Day in 2022, 37.2% of items sold worldwide were marketplace products.
  • The number of products sold on Amazon Marketplace increased 5.13% between 2021 and 2022.
  • Amazon Marketplace vendors sold 4.1 billion products in 2022; that’s 7,800 products per minute.
  • From Black Friday to Christmas Day 2021, third-party sellers sold an average of 11,500 products per minute.
  • Amazon Marketplace buyers spend the most on products for daily use; the Top 5 Marketplace product categories by sales include:
  1. Health and personal care
  2. Home
  3. Beauty
  4. Grocery
  5. Apparel

Grouped Bar Graph: Amazon Sellers' Duplicate Listings from 2021 and 2022 according to Statista'

Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) Statistics

Amazon offers “fulfillment-only” services to third-party vendors that include storage and shipping.

  • Amazon spent $90.619 billion on order fulfillment in 2023, up 7.50% YoY.
  • Order fulfillment cost Amazon $84.299 billion in 2022.
  • Amazon spent 28.4% more on order fulfillment in 2021 than 2020.
  • Fulfillment expenses represent 16.8% of Amazon’s total operating expenses and were equivalent to 15.8% of 2023 sales dollars.
  • As a share of total expenses fulfillment costs increased at an annual average rate of 16.4% over the last 5 years.
  • Amazon spent $89.5 billion on outbound shipping in 2023.
  • While Amazon no longer reports shipping revenue, in recent years, revenue offset up to 57% of shipping costs.

Bar Graph: Amazon Sales from Third-Party Seller Services in billions from 2014 ($11.75) to 2023 ($140.1) according to Amazon filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

Independent Business on Amazon Statistics

Amazon has expanded its third-party seller Marketplace to include specialty stores, and Amazon’s Kindle Digital Publishing (KDP) lets independent authors publish their work digitally.

  • Registered third-party sellers can apply to sell their products under an Amazon specialty store program for an additional charge (usually $39.99 per month plus selling fees).
  • Amazon launched Homemade to compete with Etsy; this program is available to artisans in over 80 countries.
  • Amazon Custom is for sellers with customizable products; approved applicants are usually notified within an hour.
  • Over 1 million authors have published e-books in 40 different languages with KDP.
  • In 2020 alone, KDP-published authors earned over $370 million in royalties.
  • Since 2014, KDP authors have earned over $1.5 billion through Kindle Unlimited.
  • To qualify to sell on Amazon Renewed, third-party sellers must provide invoices of refurbished and pre-owned product sales totaling a minimum of $50,000 over 3-to-6 months.
  • Amazon Merch offers printing and shipping to businesses small and large; major brands include Cartoon Network, Disney, and Universal.

Amazon Marketplace Shopper Statistics

A large share of Amazon Marketplace shoppers are Prime members.

  • Amazon has an estimated 300 million total global users.
  • 242.6 million shoppers visited Amazon websites in December 2023.
  • 126 million people shop via mobile device per month.
  • 42 million people shop via desktop in an average month.
  • 71% of U.S. Amazon shoppers are Prime members.
  • Up to 78.7% of Amazon Prime shoppers are in the United States.
  • 161.7 million or 60.9% of Americans have Amazon Prime memberships.

These data and insights were compiled by the Capital One Shopping team based on publicly available data.

Sources

  1. Amazon Investor Relations
  2. Amazon Selling Partner Blog
  3. Statista, Online Marketplaces
  4. Amazon News
  5. Amazon Assistant UK, How to Advertise on Amazon Seller Central
  6. Insider Intelligence, eMarketer
  7. Jungle Scout, How Much Money Do Amazon Sellers Make?
  8. Marketplace Pulse, Articles