25% of European Amazon marketplace sellers are based in China

One out of four sellers who are active on the 5 European Amazon marketplaces, is based in China. Research by Marketplace Pulse shows that out of those China-based sellers, over half of them use Fulfillment by Amazon, which means that from the customer point of view it’s all the same experience. For European sellers this could be threatening, because it will be hard to compete with them.

Actually, Marketplace Pulse wanted to research how big of a role China plays in the Amazon business, but sellers on Amazon.com are not required to disclose their business information. And with the Fulfillment by Amazon program growing steadily, it has become impossible to tell where the sellers are located. But in Europe, things are different. There, retailers are required to disclose their business information.

So, the business intelligence firm combined seller information with their business details in all European Amazon marketplaces (UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain). It found out that 25 percent of sellers are based in China. This percentage could be even higher when it’s about Chinese retailers selling on the Amazon marketplace in the US, Marketplace Pulse suggests.

Over half of China-based sellers use FBA

And out of those China-based sellers, more than 50 percent use the Fulfillment by Amazon program. Again, that’s a high percentage, if you take into account that only 35 percent of all sellers use FBA. “For Chinese sellers, Amazon’s fulfillment program is the key feature allowing them to compete with domestic sellers.”

Marketplace Pulse has a not-so-positive remark for European sellers on Amazon’s marketplaces. “The takeaway from this research is not the exact percentage of Chinese sellers. It’s the fact that there are more Chinese sellers than one might assume, they are very competitive because of FBA, and the percentage is, with no doubt, growing.”

Share of China-based sellers on European Amazon marketplaces

Amazon United Kingdom: 25% Chinese (of which 47% use FBA)
Amazon Germany: 17% Chinese (of which 51% use FBA)
Amazon France: 25% Chinese (of which 51% use FBA)
Amazon Spain: 28% Chinese (of which 56% use FBA)
Amazon Italy: 24% Chinese (of which 60% use FBA)