Why Sell on Amazon Canada in 2022

As you continue to find success on the Amazon platform, you’ll most likely want to grow your business and unlock even more revenue. By expanding Amazon FBA to Canada, you can access a new market of potential buyers, diversify your revenue streams, and establish an international presence for your brand. 

Best of all? It’s easier than you think. 

In this detailed article, we’ll explain why you should consider selling on Amazon Canada in 2022.

Opportunity

If you think your efforts have paid off in the American market and you’re ready to grow your reach, then you’ll be happy to know there are more eCommerce markets in which you can succeed. A great one to start with is Amazon.ca, with over 15 million unique visitors every month. This means you’ll access a significant market of buyers that could benefit from your products. 

In addition, selling on Amazon Canada poses a unique opportunity in that there is far less competition on the platform than on its American counterpart. In addition, the number of businesses that sell on Amazon.ca is rapidly growing. As such, this is indeed the perfect storm for an opportunistic seller.

A Simpler Way to Go International

Since the USA shares a land border with its northern neighbor, American sellers can avoid many hurdles related to expanding overseas. Some of the many benefits of selling in Canada include:

•  Simpler and less costly logistics,
•  An excellent trade relationship between Canada and the US,
•  We share significant similarities in our culture and consumer needs.

Diversification

When you expand your sales to any new marketplace, you’ll be diversifying your revenue streams. Therefore, by augmenting your business efforts with Amazon Canada, you can find a new source of revenue that’s relatively low risk.

Revenue growth

Selling on Amazon Canada means tapping into a new market of additional buyers. So, naturally, this move should serve to increase your revenue.

Increased brand valuation

Establishing, maintaining, and growing an international presence will increase your brand’s valuation in the long term. Plus, global expansion is typically a sign your business is performing well in all areas.

Competition 

As mentioned, competition is far less stiff on Amazon Canada than on home turf. In addition, for many product niches, competitors may not yet be selling in Canada, or, for those that are, they may not be taking full advantage of the Canadian market. Therefore, your business in Canada may have plenty of untapped potentials. 

On the other hand, there may be significant demand for the products you’re selling, and any competitors in Canada are taking your potential market share. So you’ll want to tap into this competition and bring more options to Canadian consumers in this scenario. 

Using Canada as a Launchpad

In this case, you wouldn’t be expanding to Canada but instead starting in Canada. Due to many of the same advantages we mentioned above, you can use Canada as your test market for the US. 

Since demographics are similar and you’ll experience less competition, selling in Canada could be a lower-risk move for starting your business. Also, it’s an excellent opportunity to build brand awareness before expanding to the larger US market.

How to Get Set up on Amazon Canada

Now, let’s see how to sell on Amazon Canada.

Establishing Your Business

The best way to expand your Amazon FBA to Canada is by signing up for an Amazon North American Unified Account. This account allows you to switch between amazon.com, amazon.ca, and amazon.mx in seller central to list products and manage orders.

Other functions you can perform from your NA Unified Account include:

• Share listing information
• Manage inventory 
• Track orders
• Access tools 
• Manage monthly subscription 
• Local currency payments

Another worthwhile first step when expanding to the Amazon Canada marketplace is to consult with an Amazon agency and possibly hire their services to help you navigate the process.

Fulfillment & Returns in Canada

To provide return and exchange services, you will require a Canadian address. However, you can directly ship your products from the US to FBA fulfillment centers in Canada.

Another helpful tip is to use a Canadian 3PL company to receive your inventory and forward it to Amazon fulfillment centers. Since starters have small inventory limits, you can use a 3PL partner to drip-feed inventory to Amazon. 

If you want more control over your inventory than Amazon FBA offers, you might consider using 3PL services within Canada to provide FBM services. You can read a comprehensive guide on navigating FBM in Canada.

Advertising in Canada

Like sales, you’ll experience far less competition when advertising than in the American market. And, regarding Amazon paid ads, all ad placements are the same in Canada.ca.

In short, your return on ad spend, or ROAS, is generally higher, thanks to the lack of competition. You’ll also enjoy lower CPC rates than in the US.

Despite these great benefits, please keep in mind that Canadians are still fundamentally a different kind of customer than an American one. When advertising, you’ll need to account for differences in:

• Culture 
• Tastes 
• Values
• Climate 
• Product needs
• Spelling differences 
  • i.e., color vs. colour, center vs. centre

If any of this seems overwhelming, you may want to consider working with an Amazon advertising agency to help with your marketing efforts.

Final Word

If you’re hoping to grow your brand’s reach on the Amazon marketplace, you may benefit from expanding your sales to Canada. Selling your products on Amazon Canada is relatively low risk, often involves minimal competition, and can help your global brand perception. 

About the author

Starting as an Amazon Seller, Blair Forrest has used his experience to build AMZ Prep with a focus on addressing the pain points he experienced as a seller to ensure your Amazon FBA Business reaches its full potential. AMZ Prep is centered around one mission: guaranteeing your Amazon success by making sure you’re prepared to sell and deliver to all your eager customers worldwide. By leveraging a consultative and holistic approach toward eCommerce supply chain management, we excel in weaving every business owner’s unique vision into a tailored solution.