Amazon's new online portal called 'Storefronts' shines spotlight on small businesses

The e-commerce behemoth Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) is attempting to play nice with small and medium-sized businesses with the introduction of ‘Amazon Storefronts,’ a new online store that promotes their goods.

Kicking off its efforts in the US first, Amazon’s new online store showcases products from over 20,000 mom-and-pop-style businesses across all 50 states. Customers can browse for goods via Storefront’s 25 categories, which include pet supplies, apparel, electronics and jewelry.

The move comes with tremendous advantages for Amazon as featuring these companies is likely to entice other businesses to set up shop on Amazon. It also enables Amazon to say it supports struggling retailers at a time when it is coming under attack for putting tremendous commercial pressure on its brick-and-mortar rivals by undercutting their prices.

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To support the launch of its new online portal, Amazon is unveiling its first-ever national TV commercial featuring retail businesses that sell on Amazon. The ad will attempt to show how Amazon is actually a ‘big collection of small’.

In a statement, Nicholas Denissen, a vice-president with Amazon, said his employer is looking to “champion the success” of its smaller rivals with the launch of Storefronts.

“We’ve created a custom, one-stop shopping experience for customers looking for interesting, innovative and high-quality products from American businesses from all across the country,” Denissen said.

More than 300,000 small and medium-sized businesses in the US sell goods via Amazon.

Amazon shares were down slightly to US$1,957.10 in Monday’s pre-market session.

Story by ProactiveInvestors