Amazon will have a free, three-day “virtual conference” for sellers on its platform from Sept. 1-3, the company announced on Wednesday (Aug. 12). The company said the event will feature “Amazon executives, current sellers and independent online-selling experts who will share their insights and ideas.”
According to the announcement, the Amazon Accelerate conference is bringing together small to medium-size businesses (SMBs) for its “largest-ever U.S. event dedicated to seller success.” The event plans such seminars as “Growing to a $1 Million Business” and “Creating Great Listings.”
The event will come against the backdrop of Congress investigating the business practices of Big Tech firms. In particular, a recent Wall Street Journal report concluded that Amazon employees had used information about independent sellers on its shopping platform to develop competing products.
“We are deeply invested in empowering small businesses, and now more than ever, it is critically important for us to bring our seller community together as we all navigate new economic realities,” said Jeff Wilke, CEO of worldwide consumer at Amazon, on the conference. “Amazon is privileged to partner with a large, vibrant community of small business sellers,” added Wilke, who will speak at the conference.
Also, Christine Beauchamp, president of Amazon Fashion, will speak on building a brand in Amazon’s store. In addition, Devesh Mishra, VP of supply chain, will look at Amazon’s continued investments in operations and what’s ahead for Fulfillment by Amazon.
Industry watchers had expected Amazon to announce Prime Day last month. Instead, it postponed the big sales event, pointing to the COVID-19 pandemic as the cause.
“Over the last five years, Prime Day has become a special celebration and time for Prime members to shop incredible deals for themselves and for friends and family,” an Amazon spokesperson said at the time. “This year, we’ll be holding Prime Day later than usual.”
In other news, CEO Jeff Bezos announced in the spring that his company expected to spend all of its second-quarter profit, roughly $4 billion, on responding to the coronavirus pandemic. This would include items like personal protective equipment, enhanced warehouse and facilities cleaning, less efficient processing paths that better support social distancing measures and higher wages for hourly workers.
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