This is the latest installment of the Marketplace Briefing, a weekly Modern Retail+ column about the ever-changing e-commerce marketplace landscape. More from the series →Amid a challenging macroeconomic year, Amazon has proven to be a powerful sales engine for many digitally native startups. It’s a far cry from the 2010s, when many of the most notable VC-backed startups — like Glossier and Away — were hesitant about launching on Amazon, as they didn’t want to give up brand control. These days, Amazon has become a reliable part of the consumer startup growth playbook in nearly every category, from beverage to beauty to electronics. And startup founders have gotten smarter about what drives a successful Amazon flywheel.
Modern Retail spoke with three startups — Suri, P.F. Candle Co. and Pretty Tasty Tea — about what they believe is driving their surge in Amazon sales this year.
Some hypothesize that — in a year when shoppers are even more conscious of value and price — they are looking to more places where they can do “one-stop shopping,” like Amazon. Others say that the “halo effect” from other channels is particularly powerful on Amazon, and that their expansion into physical retail channels has helped fuel outsized growth on Amazon.
