Amazon is readying to launch in Israel in the week of the upcoming general election (which will take place on September 17) and before the Jewish New Year holiday. This emerges from a message that US online retailing giant Amazon sent to Israeli sellers yesterday. Amazon asked the sellers to be ready by the week after September 12, pointing out that from the moment of the launch, traffic on the local website will boom, and stressing that sellers should "give priority to products that can sell well at New Year." Amazon also asks sellers to make sure that their prices are competitive and that special offers are accessible, and to complete checks before going online.
In the past eighteen months, Amazon has made huge strides towards local online trading in Israel. Only four months have passed since the company invited suppliers to take part in the local sellers program.
In May 2018, Amazon started to recruit translators to Hebrew at the Luxembourg offices from which it manages its European operations. Two months later, in July last year, Amazon came out with a free delivery offer for orders above $80, to test how Israelis would respond to purchases that would incur VAT (the limit for VAT exemption was $70). The offer was a huge success. After another month, Amazon published a survey in Hebrew for Israeli sellers on pricing methods and sales channels, and two months later senior Amazon executives came to Israel for meeting with local delivery companies.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on September 3, 2019
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