Small Business News

Amazon Highlights Small Businesses Ahead of Prime Day 2021

On June 21st and 22nd, e-retail giant Amazon will celebrate its annual Prime Day — its Black Friday-esque sales event. Ahead of those dates, the site is incentivizing support for small businesses. This includes allowing shoppers to earn a credit for shopping small, rewarding Amazon credit cardholders with additional discounts, and more.

Now through June 20th, customers who make purchases from select U.S.-based small businesses will earn a $10 credit to be used on Prime Day. These small businesses can be identified by “This product is from a small business” banners that will display on eligible item listings. Moreover, these banners include a link to Amazon’s small business landing page where customers can learn more about the current promotion and view items from small businesses. Among the ways shoppers can browse these businesses is by product category, U.S. geographical region, and owner category (women-owned, Black-owned, etc.). Outside of the U.S., small business promotions will also occur in Spain, Germany, Italy, France, the United Kingdom, and Japan.

In addition to that promotion, Amazon is also encouraging their co-branded credit card customers to support small businesses. Until Prime Day, Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Card, Amazon Prime Store Card, and Amazon Prime Secured Card cardholders can earn 10% back in rewards when they make purchases from select small business brands. Then, these same cardholders will earn 6% back on all Amazon.com purchases they make on Prime Day itself.

This isn’t the first time that Amazon has boasted about its support for small businesses and tied this support into the Prime Day festivities. According to the site, in the two weeks leading up to Prime Day 2020, customers spent $900 million on items from small businesses. Moreover, during last year’s Prime Day, receipts from third-party sellers — many of whom are small and medium-sized businesses — totaled $3.5 billion. Outside of Prime Day, Amazon has also supported small sellers via Small Business Academy educational initiative, annual Small Business Awards, and more.

Although there are benefits for small businesses that sell on Amazon, there are still those who view the goliath as an overall negative force for “mom and pop” shops. For example, a recent Wall Street Journal article noted that Amazon’s emphasis on fast, free shipping and its conditioning of consumers on these perks has made it difficult for business owners to match these expectations. As Monique Wilsondebriano told the paper, “It is a daily battle trying to keep up with Amazon, and it is not fun.”

Ultimately, the relationship between Amazon and small businesses remains a complicated topic. Nevertheless, promotions such as the ones on display ahead of what’s sure to be a blockbuster Prime Day do show the power the company has to do good. With that, hopefully this year’s event turns out to be a win for the numerous small sellers that have made Amazon a core part of their business.