Expanding across Amazon’s global marketplaces looks both exciting and simple on paper. One Seller Central login, familiar tools, familiar ads. But the reality is more nuanced: market size, competition, localisation effort, logistics and tax rules all vary widely, and choosing the wrong next marketplace can mean high effort for limited return.
This is a fast, strategic guide to which Amazon marketplaces matter most in 2024, and how to prioritise them depending on where you’re starting.
1. Understanding the real “size” of Amazon markets
Amazon’s global revenue still leans heavily toward North America. The US remains by far the largest marketplace, generating well over half of Amazon’s GMV. Europe follows as a major cluster anchored by Germany and the UK, and then Japan sits just behind the big European markets in traffic and GMV.
Everything after that — Canada, Australia, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Sweden, Poland, Mexico, UAE, Singapore — represents meaningful but more specialised opportunities.
But size alone is not enough to prioritise a market. Two equally large countries can have vastly different local competitors, tax rules, and buyer expectations. That’s why the best expansion plans always balance scale with friction.
2. Europe: high volume, but high operational load
Europe is the largest opportunity outside the US, but also the heaviest lift. Germany and the UK represent the majority of Amazon’s European volume, with France, Italy and Spain offering strong follow-on potential.
Advantages include huge combined demand, strong Prime penetration, and mature FBA coverage. Challenges include VAT complexity that needs addressing upfront, multiple languages, and varied compliance expectations. Europe is a multi-year investment, not a necessarily quick win.
3. North America beyond the US: easier, familiar, predictable
For US sellers, Canada (and optionally Mexico) is usually the simplest first expansion. Canada mirrors US buying behaviour, uses English for most listings, and can be tested through NARF before moving stock locally.
Canada isn’t huge, but it’s low friction: fewer localisation needs, simple customer support, straightforward compliance. Mexico offers longer-term potential but more operational friction. And don’t forget, there are localization synergies if you are selling in both Mexico and Spain.
4. Japan: big Amazon market, but only if you localise hard
Japan is one of Amazon’s largest international markets with high online shopping adoption. But Japan requires true localisation: language, customer service, catering to expectations around packaging and product detail quality.
Japan works best when you can support Japanese content and service, and when your product fits Japanese preferences. For global brands with the right fit, it can be extremely profitable; otherwise, it can be demanding.
5. English-speaking satellites: UK, Canada, Australia
If your home market is already English-speaking, the UK, Canada and Australia offer smoother expansion paths with familiar expectations and simpler content requirements.
The UK offers high revenue with VAT/import friction; Canada is moderate but simple; Australia is growing with lower competition, but a smaller population.
6. Middle East, Singapore, emerging EU: selective opportunities
Markets like the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, the Netherlands, Sweden and Poland offer high potential relative to competition, but at smaller scale.
These are excellent secondary expansions once you’ve maximised the big regions. They reward brands with strong operational discipline.
7. A simple framework for deciding your next marketplace
Here’s the core filter to evaluate expansion priorities:
- Revenue potential in the next 12–24 months.
- Category fit — are local buyers already purchasing products like yours?
- Localisation effort — content, service, packaging, compliance.
- Operational friction — VAT, returns, shipping, customs.
- Internal bandwidth — do you have dedicated ownership for this market?
Conclusion: sequence matters more than speed
Successful global expansion via Amazon is not about launching everywhere — it’s about launching in the right sequence.
US-based brands often go Canada → UK/Germany → Australia → Japan. EU-based brands usually expand across the EU cluster → UK → US → Australia/Canada. APAC-based brands may go Japan → US → UK/EU → Australia → Middle East.
The goal is not more marketplaces — it’s more profitable, defensible ones. Intelligent sequencing turns global Amazon expansion into growth rather than complexity. And when you ‘re ready to make the next move, eBiz Global is here to partner with you on that journey.