If you have recently read any reports on the world of Amazon, you have surely come across a data point that opens up space for many reflections. In 2025, new seller registrations on the platform fell to ten-year lows, stopping at approximately 165,000. That is, 44% less than the previous year. A sharp drop, which might seem alarming at first glance.
Yet, looking at the set of available data, a narrative emerges that is much more nuanced. Amazon is not becoming less interesting as a sales channel, but it is becoming more demanding. And for those who sell in a professional and structured way, this is definitely positive news.
Let’s try to share some reflections together.
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A more mature marketplace, not in decline
First of all, the reduction in new registrations reflects a phenomenon that industry experts have called Great Compression. In other words, it is a progressive squeeze that has penalized those who approached Amazon with an improvised or speculative approach.
Rising fees, higher advertising costs, increasingly complex platform rules: all this has significantly raised the entry threshold.
But beware. The evolution summarized here has not reduced the total market. On the contrary. The GMV (Gross Merchandise Value) generated by third-party sellers on Amazon reached 305 billion dollars in the United States alone, and 575 billion globally.
Fewer sellers, therefore, but more overall turnover. Which means that those who remained (or those who enter today with the right preparation) have access to a larger slice of the market than before.
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Some numbers to have clearer ideas
To confirm the above, here are some data that manifest the current scenario in a more complete and integrated way:
| Metric | 2021 | 2025 | Variation |
| Active sellers | 2.4 million | 1.65 million | –31% |
| Sellers with $1M+ turnover | 60,000 | 100,000+ | +67% |
| Traffic per seller | — | +31% | N/A |
| Annual new registrations | ~295,000 | 165,000 | –44% |
| Global Amazon 3P GMV | — | $575 billion | In growth |
Perhaps the most significant figure is the second one. Sellers who invoice over 1 million dollars annually have gone from 60,000 to over 100,000.
A 67% increase in four years, which demonstrates how the marketplace is rewarding those who invest in the quality of the operation and not those who limit themselves to putting a product online.
Traffic per active seller has instead grown by 31% since 2021. With fewer competitors in the field, every well-optimized listing today has more potential visibility than it had a few years ago. And this is an important real, concrete advantage, which translates directly into more conversion opportunities.
The composition of new sellers is also changing
Another interesting aspect concerns the geographical origin of new subscribers. In 2025, Chinese sellers represent 59.9% of new registrations (down from 62.3% in 2024). US sellers stop at 16.3%, in sharp decline compared to 70.8% in 2016. This signals two things to us. The first is that international competition (particularly Asian) is structural and must be faced with adequate tools, not ignored. The second is that there is still room for European and Italian sellers who:
- know how to differentiate themselves
- know the local market
- work on the quality of the customer experience.
Those who sell from Italy often have an undervalued competitive advantage: the ability to offer products with a story, an identity, a premium positioning.
What does all this mean for your business?
If you are already an Amazon seller with a solid operational structure, the implications of this new evolution are clear:
- You have fewer direct competitors than a few years ago, especially in the medium-high price ranges.
- The traffic per seller is increasing. It is even more important to have optimized listings, curated product pages, and careful review management.
- Profitability depends more and more on cost control: fees, cost of goods sold, advertising spending. Those who have visibility into their numbers in real time make better decisions.
- The margin is defended only with precision. Correctly calculating the selling price, monitoring FBA reimbursements, and managing VAT correctly in European marketplaces are activities that make the difference between a loss-making operation and a profitable one.
If, on the other hand, you are considering entering Amazon for the first time, the message is a bit different, but no less encouraging. Access today requires more preparation and initial investment, but the opportunities for those who arrive structured are concrete.
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Tools and data: the new competitive factor
In this context, the difference between those who grow and those who stagnate is increasingly played out on the level of tools and data analysis. That is, knowing with precision:
- which products are performing
- what the real marginality is after fees and advertising
- where unclaimed FBA reimbursements are lost
- how your catalog positions itself relative to the competition.
Platforms like ours were born precisely to respond to this need. To give Amazon sellers a clear and integrated vision of their business, without having to manually cross-reference reports and spreadsheets. Real profit, VAT management, performance analysis per single ASIN: tools that allow for quick and informed decisions, even when the marketplace changes the rules. In an increasingly competitive Amazon, those who work with accurate and updated data are already one step ahead!
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It is the right time for those who are ready
In short, as we have seen in these lines, the contraction of new sellers is not a signal that Amazon is losing appeal. It is instead the signal that the marketplace has grown and has become an increasingly serious channel, for those who approach it seriously.
The numbers we have summarized seem to confirm this trend: more turnover, more traffic per seller, more platform millionaires.
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