Thinking of #Amazon as a traditional retailer is the fastest way to kill your 1P
By Martin Heubel · October 15, 2026 · Curated by George's Blog
Thinking of #Amazon as a traditional retailer is the fastest way to kill your 1P business.
Most leadership teams have built their careers with brick-and-mortar retailers. And so they direct their teams to treat the online giant just like any other customer.
I’m not saying brads don’t know that Amazon is somewhat different.
But they ignore that Amazon is a marketplace retailer, whose mission is to simply connect »existing« supply and demand.
This business model differs significantly from demand-creating and in-store focused retailers.
𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝘁 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘀 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗔𝗺𝗮𝘇𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘃𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗼𝗿𝘀:
⚔️ Traditional retailers lean into in-store innovations, treating ecommerce as a secondary channel. Amazon's priority are innovative, top-notch digital customer experiences.
⚔️ Retailers often place bulk orders early in the product lifecycle. But Amazon purchases minimal quantities, adjusting to fast-changing demand cycles.
⚔️ Traditional retailers focus on long-term supplier partnerships. For Amazon, any vendor with a current market share becomes a strategic partner.
So what can we learn here?
👉 𝗔𝗺𝗮𝘇𝗼𝗻'𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗴𝗼𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗱, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗶𝘁.
The online retailer puts less emphasis on category development than other retailers, because the existing customer demand dictates how much it orders from suppliers.
This means the responsibility for driving innovation and category development sits with 1P vendors. Amazon won't take the lead on this.
So as you review your 2030 e-channel strategy, remember to treat Amazon as a marketplace and not as a traditional retailer.
#amazonvendor #amazonstrategy