AmazonBasics defines online giant’s private-label efforts

Private-label introductions are increasing on a seemingly daily basis, but Amazon-owned products are transforming the marketplace.



This was according to “AmazonBasics Spearheads Amazon Private Brands,” research from One Click Retail.



While most consumers are familiar with the online giant’s proprietary Amazon Echo and Echo Dot (the two bestselling items of both Prime Day 2017 and the 2016 Holiday shopping season), the company’s other private-label merchandise, such as Wickedly Prime snacks, Lark & Ro apparel and Happy Belly snack foods, also pack a punch.



However, it is AmazonBasics that leads the charge — a line that contributes to 85% of Amazon’s private brand sales. This collection is also cannibalizing other Amazon brands.



For example, sales of bedding and bath label Pinzon have fallen by 50% so far this year (about $8 million in lost sales), while AmazonBasics has moved into those same categories. Specifically, it has seen a growth of about 50% (or nearly $10 million in sales), primarily in bedding. This indicates an intention on the part of Amazon to reinvest in the broader — and more successful — AmazonBasics brand and move away from niche labels, One Click Retail said.



Amazon’s private-label strategy has been so successful that AmazonBasics is now the third best-selling brand overall on Amazon.com, and ranks highly in many product groups (fourth overall in both electronics and wireless). Originally known for its flagship product — a range of affordable household batteries — the brand has now made an impact across a wide range of categories. The bulk of sales are in accessories for electronics (approximately $35 million), including wireless, camera and PC. One unexpected success is paper shredders, the brand’s third-largest category overall. This category also features the best-selling paper shredder on Amazon.



Nineteen of the top 20 bestselling private brand items on Amazon fall under the AmazonBasics label, with an Apple-certified USB cable being the top item in the U.S., Canada, Germany and the U.K. (In fact, this item has generated approximately $10 million in sales in 2017, year-to-date [YTD].)



Outside of AmazonBasics, the best-selling private-label item is Amazon Elements Baby Wipes, Sensitive, 480 Count, which has earned $2.5 million in sales YTD. This ranks only third behind Huggies and Pampers in the Baby Wipes space.



The bestselling product group among the 45 remaining private labels is apparel (by a significant margin) with more than $20 million in sales. Amazon’s portfolio features a variety of labels, including Lark & Ro, Amazon Essentials, Buttoned Down, Mae, and Goodthreads. The next leading product group is Home, with sales that can be almost entirely credited to the shrinking Bedding & Bath brand Pinzon.



With its recent acquisition of Whole Foods, Amazon is also positioned to make a huge impact on private-label grocery. At the end of August, Amazon made over 2,000 Whole Foods items available in the marketplace (initially in the U.S. alone), which resulted in an unprecedented $500,000 in sales in a single week.



It’s too early to quantify the full impact of the Whole Foods acquisition, but as a major (and instantly successful) new addition to Amazon private brands portfolio, it will provide competition to brand manufacturers now in the platform’s grocery space, One Click Retail said.