Selling on Amazon US: What UK and International Brands Need to Know
Amazon US is the world's largest ecommerce marketplace. For UK, European and international consumer brands, it represents both a significant growth opportunity and a significant operational challenge. The scale of the US marketplace is unlike any other: over 200 million Prime members, hundreds of millions of product listings, and one of the most sophisticated retail media ecosystems on the planet.
Expanding to Amazon US requires more than moving existing listings across. The competitive landscape, cost structure, consumer expectations and advertising dynamics are all materially different. This guide is written for brand teams who are seriously evaluating the US Amazon opportunity and want an honest view of what it takes to succeed.
Why Amazon US Is Different
The first thing brands moving from Amazon UK or other marketplaces notice about Amazon US is scale. Search volumes, review counts, competitor density and advertising costs are all larger by an order of magnitude in most consumer categories.
What this means in practice:
• More competitors means differentiation needs to be sharper
• Higher CPCs mean advertising requires stronger margin management
• Greater review counts mean new entrants need a strong review generation strategy from launch
• US consumer language and buying motivations differ from UK and European markets
• Compliance requirements (FTC guidelines, state-specific regulations, labelling law) add complexity
The upside: if a product has traction on Amazon UK and the unit economics work, Amazon US offers a market roughly five times larger.
Setting Up for Amazon US: Key Considerations for International Brands
Legal and Tax Structure
International brands selling on Amazon US need a clear view of their US tax obligations. Sales tax (equivalent to VAT but administered at state level) is a significant compliance consideration. Tax advice from a US-specialist accountant is important before scaling.
Currency and Margin Modelling
Pricing on Amazon US requires careful modelling. FBA fees, referral fees, return rates (which tend to be higher in the US than UK), and advertising costs all need to be factored into the margin calculation before setting prices. Brands that launch at UK pricing structures without modelling US-specific costs often find the channel unprofitable.
Localisation
Localisation goes beyond spelling. US consumers use different terminology, respond to different product benefit framings and have different cultural reference points. A listing that converts well in the UK may underperform in the US if the copy, imagery and product claims have not been adapted.
Amazon US Listing Strategy
The core principles of listing optimisation apply on Amazon US as elsewhere: keyword-rich titles, benefit-focused bullet points, detailed product descriptions, and high-quality imagery. But the bar for each of these is higher on Amazon US.
Review counts are the single biggest visible signal of trust on Amazon US. A product with ten reviews competing against products with thousands is at a structural disadvantage regardless of listing quality. Launch strategy needs to prioritise review generation through Amazon Vine and legitimate early traction-building activity.
A+ Content and Brand Store are as important on Amazon US as anywhere, but content that performs well in US markets often emphasises different values. Social proof, before/after results, ingredient transparency and sustainability credentials tend to resonate strongly with US consumer segments, particularly in health, beauty and food categories.
Amazon Advertising on Amazon US
Amazon Advertising in the US is the most developed retail media environment in the world. All Sponsored Ads products are available, along with the most mature version of Amazon DSP and a growing suite of measurement and attribution tools.
CPCs in competitive US categories are significantly higher than UK equivalents. Health supplements, beauty, household goods and pet products routinely see CPCs of $1 to $3 or more for top-performing keywords. Brands entering Amazon US need to model their launch advertising investment carefully against expected conversion rates and target ACoS.
DSP on Amazon US: Amazon DSP in the US has more scale, more audience data and more third-party media inventory than any other market. For brands running full-funnel campaigns or trying to build brand awareness beyond the marketplace, US DSP offers capabilities that are genuinely distinctive compared to other programmatic channels.
Fulfilment and Logistics for Amazon US
FBA is the standard recommendation for international brands entering Amazon US. The US fulfilment network is vast, with distributed warehouses providing next-day or two-day Prime delivery across most of the country. Prime eligibility has a significant impact on conversion in the US market.
For UK brands shipping into Amazon US FBA, the inbound logistics chain needs to be well-managed. Lead times, customs clearance, import duty (which varies by product category and country of manufacture), and Amazon's inbound requirements all add complexity compared to domestic UK FBA operations.
Some brands use US-based third-party logistics providers (3PLs) as an intermediary, which can offer more flexibility on inventory management and allow for FBM fulfilment alongside FBA. For brands still proving the market, this reduces the risk of being locked into large FBA inventory positions before demand is established.
Amazon US Growth: What Takes Time and What Does Not
Some things on Amazon US take time regardless of investment: review accumulation, organic keyword rank, seller feedback history. These compound over months, not weeks.
Other things can be accelerated: advertising reach, listing quality, promotional velocity, creator-generated content for brand credibility. The brands that succeed on Amazon US typically accept the slow build on trust signals while being aggressive about the things they can control from day one.
Category timing matters too. Entering a category during a seasonal peak (holiday season, back to school, summer for certain categories) can compress the review and rank-building timeline, but also requires investment readiness to capitalise on the traffic.
Frequently Asked Questions
How hard is it for UK brands to sell on Amazon US?
It is achievable but requires more preparation than most brands initially expect. Legal structure, tax compliance, localisation, margin modelling and logistics all need to be in place. Brands that treat Amazon US as a simple extension of their UK catalogue typically underperform. Those that treat it as a new market entry tend to succeed.
Should brands start with Amazon UK or Amazon US?
For most UK-based brands, Amazon UK is the right starting point. It provides the operational foundations, review history and advertising data that make the transition to Amazon US easier. The US market is more competitive and more expensive to enter, and the learnings from a UK operation reduce risk significantly.
What are the biggest costs to consider on Amazon US?
FBA fulfilment fees, referral fees (typically 8% to 15% depending on category), advertising spend, return processing costs and US sales tax compliance. Brands should model these in full before setting retail prices on the US marketplace.
What categories work well for UK brands on Amazon US?
Health and wellness, beauty and personal care, food and grocery (where labelling complies with US regulations), sports and outdoors, and home and kitchen are all strong categories for UK challenger brands on Amazon US. The US market often has appetite for UK-origin or European-origin brand stories, which can be a positioning advantage.
Toucan works with consumer and FMCG brands on Amazon UK and international marketplace expansion including Amazon US. If you are evaluating the US opportunity, speak to our team about what a structured market entry looks like for your brand.