COVID Has Helped Amazon Increase Rapidly in Australia

International retail behemoth, Amazon’s expansion into the Australian market is running ahead of schedule, COVID has helped Amazon with the company exceeding demand over the last period.

Craig Fuller, Amazon Australia’s head of operations, told The Sydney Morning Herald the business’ growth in the local market was beating expectations, with sales almost doubling over 2020 to top $1 billion for the first time.

Amazon, which is a $2 trillion business globally, has taken a slow approach to the Australian market, opting to grow its customers gradually rather than blitz shoppers with massive marketing campaigns.

However, the COVID-19 pandemic and the associated boom in online shopping appears to have turned this approach on its head. Along with its soaring sales, the Amazon fulfilment network in Australia vastly expanded, opening 11 new warehousing sites in the past 12 months. “Our expansion plans, in terms of putting down a footprint … has probably just been brought forward a little bit, but in terms of where we thought we’d be … we’re a little bit ahead,” Craig said.

COVID-19 has been a boom to almost every major online retailer over the past year, as locked-down shoppers shifted their spend online. Amazon will also open its new 200,000 square foot robotic warehouse in Sydney later this year, which will house more than 11 million items and will be largely automated, though it will still rely on people to pick and pack orders.

Across the Ocean Shipping offers customs clearance and Third Party Logistics / 3PL services for Amazon fulfilment. Contact us today for more information on how we can assist you with your ecommerce needs.