Going Global on Amazon

It’s easy to see sales growing and market share strengthening, and become complacent in your Amazon strategy.

But hitting that ceiling doesn’t mean you’ve “completed” Amazon, it’s often a sign that it’s time to expand.

While Amazon has made international expansion more accessible than ever, knowing how to succeed in a new marketplace can still feel unclear. So we’re breaking down the key steps to getting it right.

Preparing for take-off

The first step is deciding where to expand.

Demand in one country doesn’t always translate to another, so choosing the right marketplace is critical.

Amazon’s Category Insights can help here, showing revenue growth by category across different marketplaces. Recent updates to features like Top Grossing and Newly Launched also give greater visibility into the competitive landscape—helping you understand who you’ll be up against.

But knowing the market is only part of the picture.

You also need to understand whether you are brand ready.

Before expanding, it’s worth asking:

• TACOS efficiency – are you in a position to invest in growth and awareness, even if returns aren’t immediate?

• Operational readiness – can your supply chain support international demand?

• Content – are you prepared to localise your listings effectively, not just translate them?

  
  

Setting up for success

Once the foundations are in place, Amazon offers programmes to make expansion more straightforward.

• For Sellers: The Pan-EU programme allows you to send products to a fulfilment centre in countries like Germany, France, Italy, Spain or Poland, with Amazon distributing across the EU

• For Vendors: You can work with your Vendor Manager or use the Selection and Growth Hub in Vendor Central to begin setting up international listings

With logistics and listings in place, the focus shifts to optimisation.

Optimising for new markets

This is where many brands fall short.

Expanding internationally isn’t just about launching—it’s about adapting.

One of the most common pitfalls is underestimating the importance of localisation.

Translations matter.

In one case, we supported a brand expanding into Germany and found that properly localised content wasn’t just a “nice to have”, it was a game changer.

• Sales increased by 47%

• Conversion rate improved by 13%

This highlights a key point: Translating content is not enough. It needs to feel native to the market.

Conclusion

International expansion on Amazon isn’t simply a case of replicating what already works, it’s about building a strategy that fits a new market, new customer behaviour, and new competition.

The brands that succeed are the ones that prepare properly, invest in understanding their new audience, and continuously optimise once they launch.

Hitting a ceiling in your current marketplace isn’t the end of growth, it’s often the start of the next phase.

And with the right approach, expanding internationally can unlock a whole new level of opportunity.