Amazon launches Seller University to help retailers digitize

Introducing Seller University, an online education portal for small and medium businesses (SMBs) in Singapore. The program was introduced at the first Amazon Singapore Online Seller Summit 2020. With interactive eLearning content, sellers on Amazon.sg can access live, practice opportunities and personalized support to better operate on Amazon's store.

The inaugural virtual Seller Summit drew 1,300 participants and saw industry leaders from Amazon, Enterprise Singapore, and OCBC Bank discuss retail trends, growth opportunities, and offer insights on how SMBs can expand their businesses to reach more customers locally and globally.

"Sellerss success is our success. We are heartened to see the overwhelming participation from local businesses at our first ever Seller Summit in Singapore,," said Bernard Tay, country leader, Amazon.sg seller services and head of Amazon global selling Southeast Asia, Australia, and New Zealand. "This is an encouraging milestone and we are committed to supporting local businesses for the long term, with new programs such as Seller University to help in their digital transformation journey,"

The launch of Amazon's Seller University offers sellers a series of rich educational content such as complimentary training videos and online tools to educate businesses on how to sell on Amazon.sg. Sellers will be able to learn how to create effective product listings faster, master the key tools and applications for selling online, benefit from Amazon's tools such as Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA), advertising, promotions, and more. The Seller Central feature is also part of this offering and will provide sellers with personalized recommendations on programs and features to accelerate their growth.

Amazon has progressively launched new resources to help sellers since the launch of Amazon.sg in October 2019. For instance, Amazon introduced the Amazon Seller App for sellers with accounts on Amazon.sg to easily track sales and manage their business via mobile. To empower sellers to build and nurture their businesses online, Amazon rolled out its Marketplace Appstore, a one-stop shop to discover third-party applications and services for automating tedious business aspects, and the Seller Forum, a resource for first-hand advice from fellow business owners on selling with Amazon.

As part of the event's keynote presentation, Enterprise Singapore detailed the support available for local retailers and its partnership with Amazon for the Ecommerce booster package.

To date, Amazon has on board over hundreds of new retailers to sell online on its marketplace. The one-time grant from Enterprise Singapore of up to S$9,000 per retailer can be used to subsidize content development, product listing, channel management, fulfilment, advertising and promotion, trainings and workshops for local retailers to enhance their eCommerce capabilities and reach more customers. This is in addition to the benefits of Amazon's promotional campaigns, data analysis of sales, and access to training workshops and 200 innovative tools to help retailers manage their businesses effectively on Amazon.

OCBC's keynote speech explored how SMBs can emerge stronger and more resilient post COVID-19. During this period, Amazon has also teamed up with OCBC to offer the first 200 eligible OCBC SMB customers, who sign up with Amazon through the package, S$1,500 in Amazon Web Service (AWS) credit.

Melvyn Low, Head of Global Transaction Banking, OCBC Bank, said: "It is critical for businesses to adapt, pivot and transform, and digital will play a big role in this. We have been helping businesses change the way they buy, sell and operate through our partnerships with key enablers such as Amazon. The Amazon Singapore Online Seller Summit 2020 has been a great opportunity to exchange such ideas and experiences as we journey together to a new reality."

The inaugural Singapore Seller Summit also featured a panel discussion from online retailers Brightdezigns, KeaBabies, Megadi, Rui Smiths and The Soap Haven on their experience of growing their business online and finding success from selling on Amazon. The retailers shared about how they have leveraged Amazon's global footprint and its logistics and inventory solutions to expand beyond local shores and serve customers globally -- all from the comfort and safety of their homes.

Learn more about the millions of small and medium-sized businesses growing with Amazon. Learn more about selling on Amazon.