Large Appliances is Amazon’s most lucrative category
Large Appliances is Amazon’s most lucrative category with UK sellers turning over an average of £364k per month
- Sellers of ‘Large Appliances’ turnover on average £364k per month – the most of any category according to research by Thrasio
- ‘Books’ and ‘CDs & Vinyls’ remain among the top six most lucrative (with an average monthly seller revenue of £230k)
- Grocery, Beauty, Home & Kitchen are the most competitive categories with an average of 2,000 sellers in each
- More than 17 of Amazon’s 27 primary categories have an average seller revenue of £100,000 per month
Data from online consumer goods company Thrasio has found that books, CDs and vinyl are still big business for Amazon sellers with businesses turning over an average of £230K per month.
Thrasio analysed data from SmartScout on over 18,000 sellers to reveal the makeup of the UK’s booming ecommerce sector. The data reveals surprising patterns about which categories are bringing in revenue for sellers and which see the biggest competition.
Large appliances top the list for average seller revenues
Amazon sellers in the Large Appliances category had the highest average monthly seller revenue (total category value divided by number of sellers), at £364k.
Surprisingly, Books (£227K) is still one of the most lucrative categories for sellers, as is CDs & Vinyl (£234k), suggesting that those looking to spring up profitable revenue streams on the platform don’t always need to seek out new product lines or high-value goods.
The data also shows high-value categories like Automotive (£222k), Computers & Accessories (£111k) and Watches (£45k), were beaten out by the likes of clothing (£250k), Sports & Outdoors (£239k) and Pet Supplies (£234k).
Grocery sellers face the most competition online
As more people turn to selling online either as a side hustle or primary business, the data suggests that there are sustainable revenues to be made across the marketplace, though competition is high.
Of the 27 categories analysed, five had more than 1,400 active GB-based sellers competing for sales. Grocery topped the list, with over 2,275 active sellers, followed by Beauty (2,103) and Home & Kitchen (1,724).
Of the 27 Amazon categories analysed, more than 17 have an average seller revenue of £100,000 per month.
Top 20 Amazon sellers and category revenues, ranked by Average revenue per seller (monthly):
| Amazon Primary Category | Number of sellers | Total category revenue (monthly) | Average revenue per seller (monthly) |
| Large Appliances | 22 | £8m | £364k |
| Clothing | 1439 | £504m | £350k |
| Sports & Outdoors | 1379 | £392m | £239k |
| CDs & Vinyl | 38 | £9m | £236k |
| Pet Supplies | 809 | £189m | £234k |
| Books | 434 | £98m | £227k |
| Electronics & Photo | 676 | £152m | £225k |
| Automotive | 836 | £185m | £222k |
| Musical Instruments & DJ | 185 | £30m | £163k |
| Grocery | 2276 | £358m | £157 |
| Shoes & Bags | 105 | £16m | £154k |
| Garden & Outdoors | 926 | £142m | £154k |
| Health & Personal Care | 716 | £104m | £146k |
| Beauty | 2103 | £299m | £142k |
| Baby Products | 597 | £80m | £134k |
| DIY & Tools | 1638 | £213m | £130k |
| Computers & Accessories | 284 | £31m | £111k |
| Home & Kitchen | 1724 | £165m | £195k |
| Lighting | 105 | £9m | £90k |
| Stationery & Office | 992 | £88m | £89k |
Jim Mann, Thrasio’s UK Director of Acquisitions, said: “Amazon started as an online book marketplace so it’s fascinating to see that the money hasn’t strayed too far from those origins. Selling books is still big business, and with high potential revenues across all Amazon categories there’s a significant opportunity for aspiring entrepreneurs to grab their slice of the changing retail market”.
“Selling on Amazon allows you to rewrite the rules of retail – it’s no wonder so many budding entrepreneurs are drawn to it. From our own significant experience in acquiring and scaling brands on the platform we have seen first hand that using Amazon as your primary sales channel costs a fraction of what you’d require to lease space, fit a shop, pay rent and rates, hire a team and more. The companies we acquire are agile, competitive and innovative. You can now build a retail business from your bedroom, find time for hobbies and a family, and have a shot at reaping the rewards on exit.”
