Smaller third-party retailers growing on site during pandemic, Amazon says

Amazon said this week that third-party sellers are seeing massive sales in some cases, even with the coronavirus pandemic hampering the economy.

The company is trying to present itself as friendly to small businesses as Amazon and CEO Jeff Bezos get ready to face scrutiny when he is scheduled to testify before Congress next week.

Amazon says shutdowns and stay-at-home orders amid the pandemic drove people to shop online. They say that drive helped smaller retailers on the site, adding more than a million jobs over a 12-month period.

The company says that 2 million U.S. sellers shipped items and made an average of $160,000 in sales during the period that ended May 31. This provided some stability for the retail giant, who says that more than 50% of sales come from small businesses.

An Amazon spokesperson said that Amazon spent $15 billion last year to help small retailers.

The House Judiciary Committee is having a hearing Monday to look at online platforms and their effect on the market. Bezos is expected to testify.

Cox Media Group