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You probably know that Amazon Prime Day starts on July 16th and 17th. You may not realize that you can shop during the event and support local businesses at the same time, if you have the patience.
Amazon makes it easy to find virtually anything you’re looking for. This e-commerce site can be a pain for anyone who wants to shop locally, especially since the site’s fees cut into small business owners’ profits. The best way to support small businesses is to shop directly on their websites or in their stores, but that’s not always convenient or possible.
The good news: you can shop small on Amazon. The bad news? It’s not the smoothest experience. The retail giant has made a number of improvements to its small business shopping center since Prime Day last July. There is even a Small Business Deals Page Prime DayThe process of finding what you need is still cumbersome.
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If you’re willing to take a few extra steps to navigate Amazon’s site and be vigilant while shopping, you can score some great deals during Prime Day that help support small businesses.
How to Shop Prime Day Deals from Small Businesses
This year Amazon has a small business deals page to make it a little easier to find Prime Day at small businesses. It’s nice to have all the deals in one place, but it’s still not the most user-friendly experience.
All deals are loaded on one page, so you’ll need to use filters in the left navigation panel to narrow down your search. You can also use Amazon’s search browser to help. It should default to ‘Small business deals’ on this page, but double check before searching (especially on mobile).
When you’re looking through your search results, watch out for sponsored ads. A quick search for “jewelry” in the small business search bar returned good results from small businesses, but the top section contained sponsored listings that weren’t from small businesses.
How to Tell if an Amazon Product is from a Small Business
When searching for items on Amazon, look for the Small Business icon below the shipping information.
When you search for an item on Amazon, if it’s from a small business, you’ll see a small icon below the listing on the search results page. You may have to squint a bit (especially on your phone) to find this “Small Business” store icon, but it’s usually right below the price and shipping information.
Once you’re on the listing page for the item, you can also double-check to see if it’s from a small business. To do this, look under the “About This Item” section until you find the “Additional Details” heading for the Small Business icon.
How to Find Small Business Products on Amazon on a Laptop or Desktop
It’s a little easier to browse small business items on your desktop than it is on your smartphone. In addition to Amazon’s small business Prime deals page, you can find small business products on Amazon in two different ways: by using the “shop small” search engine or by searching for an item and using the “Small Business” filter.
Amazon’s Small Business Search Engine
There are two ways you can use Amazon’s small business search engine on your desktop.
- From the Amazon home page, select the hamburger menu (three-line navigation bar) labeled “All” at the top left, directly below the Amazon logo. From there, scroll down to Programs & Features > View All > Small & Underserved Businesses > Support Small Store. This will take you to Amazon’s Support Small search engine and landing page. From there you can search for products within the Support Small department.
- On the Amazon homepage, enter one of the search terms below into the main search box: shop small; small companies; support small; support small businesses. Amazon will display search results as normal, but a round blue storefront icon with a “Support Small Businesses That Sell on Amazon” banner will appear above the results. Clicking on the icon or banner will take you to the Support Small search engine.
If you know what you are looking for, you can use this search engine to search for products. Just check to see if the department is now called “Support Small” and then type in the name of your product.
Amazon’s Small Business Filter
If you don’t want to go through all of these steps, you can simply search for an item using Amazon’s search bar. Once the search results appear, you’ll see a navigation with filters appear on the left side of your screen. Scroll all the way down until you find “Business Type” and select “Small Business.” This will refresh your results with listings from small businesses.
Keep your eyes peeled for sponsored listings that may be in there. Look for a small shop icon under each product.
How to Shop Small by Product Category
If you want to narrow your search even further, the small business page lets you choose from several product categories, including:
Once you click on a category, you can browse or enter a product name into the dedicated search engine to narrow down your search results.
You can also search for handmade items through Amazon’s handmade search portal.
How to Shop Small by Type of Entrepreneur
You can further refine your searches and shop by business type on the Small Business Landing PageCurrent types include:
You will be redirected to another business hub page where you can search by category or use the search bar.
How to Shop Local on Amazon
Amazon Handmadea hub where you can find items made by artisans and crafters, allowing you to refine your results by region.
Regions include:
Once you’ve selected them, you can use the filters in the left navigation to browse by category. You can also drill down further to filter by a specific state. Using the search bar will limit your item search to handmade items, but will not be region specific.
How to Shop Small Businesses on Your Phone
You can make small purchases through a mobile browser or the Amazon Shopping app on your phone, but it is more cumbersome than through a desktop browser.
The easiest way is to search for the item you want using the Amazon search bar and then select “Filters.” Scroll all the way down and under “Business Type” select “Small Business.” You will then need to click the “Show Results” button to repopulate your search results.
You can also go directly to the Categories compiled by small businesses page or the Prime Day Small Business Deals Pageand then continue browsing.
The last option is to type “support small” into the Amazon search engine on your phone or mobile app, and then click on the round blue storefront icon that appears. That will take you to Amazon’s Support Small search engine. From there you can search as normal, but be aware that you may get a mix of results from different companies. If you want to make sure it’s from a small business, look for the “Small Business” icon on the listing.
If this option doesn’t work on your phone app, try going to Amazon’s website through your mobile browser.
Alternative Ways to Support Small Businesses Online
The best way to support a local or small business online is to shop directly on their website (if they have one). There are also other sites that aim to help you support local businesses and find American-made products, even if they don’t have the reach of Amazon (and the delivery speed of Amazon Prime). These include:
- Etsy: Offers handmade, vintage and unique gifts; has a filter for US stores.
- To cultivate: Provides links to American-made products; has a Chrome extension.
- Shopwhereilive: Provides links to local small businesses.
Many small businesses also have their own online stores. An easy way to search for small businesses near you (if you don’t have a specific one in mind) is to use the American Express Buy small now tool. Enter your zip code or enable location services and this tool will show you local businesses near you. You can also use Yelp or Google Maps to search for local businesses in your area.
Do small businesses pay fees to sell on Amazon?
Like all sellers on the site, small businesses pay fees to list and sell products through Amazon. It currently has two sales plansone that costs 99 cents per unit sold — designed for businesses selling fewer than 40 items per month — and one that charges a flat $40 per month. There are other fees small businesses should consider, including Amazon’s referral fee (between 5% and 45%); and other miscellaneous fees.
If you want the small business to keep more of their profits, buy direct from them if you can. If buying online is the best way to support them, Amazon gives you that option.
