A Small Business Gets Big Business Benefits with Amazon Services

The Uber Shop, a Texas-based apparel retailer, began selling online in 2000. After six years of trying different third party tools, they decided to use Amazon as their selling platform. "Amazon allowed us to switch from a survival strategy to a growth strategy," says Uber Shop president, Diana Kinsey. "They have a better strategic marketing plan, better customer retention and a cost structure that provided better opportunity for thin margin small business."

Amazon Shopper = Good Customer
Kinsey wasn't automatically convinced that Amazon Services was the right choice for The Uber Shop. They already had a brick and mortar presence, 6,000 square feet of warehouse space and their own customers base. But ultimately she found that Amazon shoppers made good Uber Shop customers. "As much as we would like to be in front of the customer, it's actually beneficial to allow the customer to be an Amazon customer," says Kinsey. "Amazon provides a more trusting environment for customers and a more secure venue for legitimate sellers. From our experience, they have the leading edge both in customer attraction/retention and services that the seller can benefit from."

How to Have a Bigger Workforce-without Hiring
Like all small businesses, The Uber Shop struggled with meeting demand during peak holiday seasons. They sometimes needed more manpower, but didn't want to invest in it. They found a solution with Fulfillment by Amazon. "Fulfillment by Amazon provides us an additional work force, allowing us to grow, without the overburden of infrastructure that typically hamstrings small businesses," says Kinsey. "Fulfillment by Amazon has increased our Amazon.com sales by nearly 100%. It allows us to more than double our holiday throughput without significant increase in man hours and also provides intangible benefits like greater customer trust in shipping times being met."