Amazon: How Your Business Can Go Global

Australia is often heralded as a global leader in ecommerce, but according to a recent 2014 Sensis e-Business report, only 26 percent of Australian e-retailers are selling to overseas customers. With the global ecommerce sales set to reach USD$1.5trillion in 2014, Australian retailers are only scratching at the surface of the much bigger opportunity.  

To take advantage of the global marketplace and ensure your sales strategy translate globally, here are some added considerations for businesses to tap into.

Culture and Language: Ensuring that your products, prices and brand positioning resonate with the culture of the countries you’re selling in should be your first priority. Invest in a professional translation service for your product suite and sales process. Language proficiency is extremely beneficial when researching and ultimately selling in a new market.

Seasonality: Understanding and charting seasonal differences can have a substantial impact on your ecommerce strategy. For example, recognising that Australian summer is a Canadian winter and vice versa can allow you to design a global selling strategy that maximises your seasonal inventory. Fundamentally, you can extend your selling season by selling to countries where the product may find a new audience. 

Financial complexities: Managing international transactions can often be a stumbling block for ecommerce businesses. Recognising the complexity of this area, Amazon offers assistance to its marketplace sellers though the launch of Amazon Currency Converter for Sellers (ACCS). ACCS is an optional service that enables businesses that sell globally to be paid directly into their local bank account, in the local currency, saving time and eliminating the complexity of maintaining foreign bank accounts.