Amazon’s third party sellers were expanding quickly in local markets but were more reserved about selling abroad.
I explored creating a tool that could help sellers build confidence and support them while making the decision to expand their business to new marketplaces around the world.
Problem
It took an average of 56 days for sellers to complete setting up their accounts and listings to be ready to sell in a global market. We wanted to shorten this time and be able to quickly expand sellers cross regionally.
I couldn’t figure it out. How much is going to cost me to get it there? It’s easy to figure that out here, it’s not easy to figure it out in the UK. Some items have different rates. It took a lot just to understand that.
Seller
Pain points
Based on research, sellers ran into a couple of pain points during the setup process.
- Sellers were uncertain if the investment would pay off. There were extra costs with cross regional selling including higher cost of shipping and additional taxes.
- Clear and trustworthy information was hard to find. Taxes were confusing to navigate and there were a lot of other red tape that served as obstacles for sellers. Every country has small nuances that were hard to nail down.
Brainstorming an idea
I facilitated a design spike with the design team to brainstorm solutions. We worked through some collaborative exercises to narrow down on the pain points, potential success metrics, and a potential journey of a user.
Creating a concept
Armed with a seller’s journey with decision points, I designed a tool that calculated costs and projected profits for sellers to better understand the new market. Sellers could see their product demand projected in a new marketplace based on other similar products and also see a cost breakdown based on the information that Amazon could learn from the listing.
Getting user feedback
I conducted a user study to determine how helpful this tool would be for users. I talked with sellers and they were satisfied with the basic functionalities of the tool. They were really excited about playing with the different fulfillment and costs variables to set a smart cost for the listing. Essentially, the basics were all there and they really appreciated the concept.
Solution
Sellers discover the sandbox tool on the main global selling page. They find that it can help them consider expanding their business to a new marketplace.
To understand a new market, sellers can see an estimation for how their listings might perform based on product demand. Sellers see projections on a per listing basis and in a high level aggregated view.
Sellers can view estimates on a per listing basis and in a high level aggregated view. The aggregated view can help them make their final decision.
Sellers are able to save their sandbox scenarios and create more to build their knowledge and confidence. When ready, they can move forward with a guided experience based on their new marketplace.
Impact
Sellers were pretty clear that they were struggling to get their businesses set up for new marketplaces. The tool I designed can help users be more prepared and build confidence in the expansion journey. My work helped the team bridge the gap between the disjointed expansion experiences that sellers face. My research and designs helped inform the team’s next steps to address this pain point.
