Amazon is by far the most popular platform for eCommerce. In a world where a large percentage of all retail sales are occurring online, that makes it a platform modern business owners can’t afford to ignore. Thankfully, Amazon has made it a policy to create tools for business owners that make it easier to sell their wares online. Read on to find out everything you need to know in our Amazon Storefront guide.
What is an Amazon Storefront?
An Amazon Storefront is a multi-page website hosted by Amazon with a unique URL and links directly to product pages. It’s perfect for showcasing brands’ products in detail, since it allows brand owners to use images, text, and even videos.
Eligible Businesses
Not all businesses can set up Amazon Storefront accounts. Only companies that produce one or more products under a registered brand name are eligible.
Business owners who own one or more of the brands they sell can register them with Amazon to get started but those who only resell other brands are best off sticking with Seller Profiles and regular Amazon URLs.
Benefits of Creating an Amazon Storefront
It used to be the case that brands could only create product pages within the context of Amazon Marketplace’s general aesthetic. This made it difficult for sellers to differentiate their products from the competition. With an Amazon Storefront, business owners can use unique designs, multimedia, and social media links to create a fully branded online shopping experience.
This comprehensive tool goes far beyond the platform’s Brand Pages. Since Amazon Storefronts are customizable, business owners can tailor their
stores to meet their customers’ needs. They can also gather data through Amazon Analytics to further improve customers’ online shopping experiences and increase conversion rates.
Amazon Storefront Guide: Frequently Asked Questions
It’s not uncommon for business owners to feel overwhelmed by the amount of work it takes to set up a well-designed Amazon Storefront. Getting to know the basics first can make the process seem much less scary. Get started by finding answers to some common questions asked about Amazon Storefronts:
How much is an Amazon storefront?
Qualifying vendors who already have professional seller accounts can create and maintain Amazon Storefronts for free. Those who are new to the platform should keep in mind that a professional seller account does come with a monthly fee. It’s currently $39.99.
How do I create an Amazon storefront?
Create Seller Account
Business owners who are just getting started on Amazon need to start by creating professional seller accounts. The approval process sometimes takes a few days since the company has to verify the seller’s information.
Apply for Amazon Brand Registry
Once a seller account has been completed, business owners should apply to the Amazon Brand Registry (ABR) program. Only sellers who have at least one registered brand can open an Amazon Storefront.
Assign ASIN or UPCs
Products need to have Amazon Standard Identification Numbers (ASINs) or UPCs assigned to each item. These identification numbers are how Amazon Storefront users upload all of their products at once, making it easier and quicker to complete this process.
Create an Easy-to-Navigate Plan
It’s best to establish page hierarchy before adding unique content to each page or uploading products. Pay attention to detail when constructing pages and make sure to create an easy-to-navigate store. Content can be uploaded to each page using content tiles, which can consist of product grids, galleries, videos, images, titles, and navigation tools.
Create Your Storefront
Sign into the company’s Seller Central account. Go to the Stores menu and select Manage Stores. Amazon will provide a list of qualifying brands and guide brand owners through the process of creating a homepage using one of four templates or themes. Store owners can create additional pages for best-selling products, discounted products, or product categories.
Check Your Work
Before submitting the Storefront to Amazon for review, carefully check each page. Look for spelling and grammatical errors, navigation issues, branding or image inconsistencies, issues with pages’ mobile layouts, and other potential pitfalls now. Storefront owners can’t make any changes while their stores are under review, and this process can take several days.
Review
Once they have finished their Storefront designs and uploaded products, business owners can prepare to submit their Storefronts for review.
What Are Amazon Insights?
Amazon Store Insights is an analytics tool that provides metrics by page and traffic source. Store owners can check daily visitor and view totals, estimate total sales and units sold, and see the average number of unique pages viewed by each store visitor. It can be accessed from the Storefront main page.
This information gives business owners an idea of who is visiting their Storefronts and what they’re doing when they get there. Insights can measure traffic from Amazon Sponsored Brand ads, internal organic traffic, and custom source tags. The rest of the traffic to the page will only be labeled “other.”
Tips for Creating an Exceptional Amazon Storefront
Amazon has made it relatively easy for brand owners to set up custom Storefronts on their platform. There’s a lot of competition, though, so it’s important for new users to gain a competitive edge. Here are a few tips on how to do so:
Customize everything
Showcase key products
Create rich, engaging content
Ensure that branding is consistent
Make the Storefront easy to navigate
Promote the Storefront both on and off Amazon
Use high-resolution images
Check mobile compatibility before submitting
The Bottom Line
Creating an eye-catching and properly branded Amazon Storefront takes time and effort, but it will pay off in the long run. Storefronts are one of the most comprehensive branded shopping tools available and Amazon is by far the most popular online retailer. Just keep in mind that the competition is fierce, so your Storefront will have to stand out from the crowd.
