Amazon Business Customer Perspectives

Sources Used To Purchase Product Categories (% Base) Trad OP Paper EOS Furniture Break room Jan San Machines Direct from manufacturers/OEMs 3% 2% 13% 19% 5% 7% 18% National office products suppliers (delivered) 32% 36% 37% 42% 29% National office products suppliers (retail) 28% 31% 16% 11% 30% Independent office products suppliers 4% 1% Amazon Business 91% 92% 66% 38% 46% Amazon 10% eBay 0% Other online resellers Warehouse clubs 39% Mass market retail 8% 25% Category specialists - 12% Base 373 377 331 104 110 99 149 Base: US Amazon Business customers purchasing each category Source: MWA/OPI: Amazon Business Report

Sources Losing Sales To Amazon Business (% Base) Trad OP Paper EOS Furniture Break room JanSan Machines Manufacturers/OEMs 6% 4% 12% 13% 14% 16% National office products suppliers (deliver) 43% 46% 48% 31% 22% 35% National office products suppliers (retail) 42% 40% 45% 28% 29% 38% Independent office products suppliers 2% 1% 3% Amazon 7% 9% 23% 26% 19% AmazonSupply 8% 10% eBay 0% 5% Other online resellers Warehouse clubs 15% 24% Mass market national retail 17% Category specialists Base 341 347 220 39 42 32 69 Base: US Amazon Business customers purchasing each category Source: MWA/OPI: Amazon Business Report

Did Amazon Business Customers Previously Use Amazon? (% Base) Base: 400 US Amazon Business customers Source: MWA/OPI: Amazon Business Report

Reasons For First Using Amazon Business (% Base) I was looking for lower prices 69% Amazon is a trusted brand 46% I wanted a fast delivery service 45% I had a good experience buying from Amazon as a private consumer I wanted a reliable delivery service 33% I wanted to buy these products online I just wanted to give Amazon Business a try 30% I was looking for a more convenient supplier 28% I was already buying these from Amazon/Amazon Supply for my organization 27% I wanted a ‘one stop shop’ for a wide range of business supplies 24% Our previous supplier(s) let us down 15% I was instructed to do so (company policy) 14% I wanted a supplier offering corporate credit 10% I was attracted by the company’s exclusive discounts and promotions Base 400 Base: 400 US Amazon Business customers Source: MWA/OPI: Amazon Business Report

Advantages Of Using Amazon Business (% Base) Perceived Advantage % Base Low prices 71% Convenience 59% Rapid delivery service 48% Free shipping on orders above $49 44% Exclusive discounts and promotions offered Good quality products 43% Reliable delivery service 41% Good product availability 31% Wide product range (ie a ‘one stop shop’) 28% Deep product range (lots of variations of the same product available) 18% Provides access to a wide range of suppliers through the Amazon Marketplace 16% Good customer service Access to product user reviews Good returns policy/service 13% Base: 400 US Amazon Business customers Source: MWA/OPI: Amazon Business Report

Disadvantages Of Using Amazon Business (% Base) Perceived Disadvantage % Base It is difficult to return products 45% It is difficult to speak to anyone 41% You cannot inspect products before purchase 26% Customer service is poor 17% There are shipping costs for orders below $49 13% Price is not competitive 8% They are not based locally 7% Product availability is unreliable 6% No customer-specific product list is provided 5% Delivery service is too slow 4% Delivery service is not reliable Product quality is poor There are no disadvantages that I can think of 22% Base: 400 US Amazon Business customers Source: MWA/OPI: Amazon Business Report

Price Competitiveness Of Amazon Business (% Base) Base: 400 US Amazon Business customers Source: MWA/OPI: Amazon Business Report

Customer Service Performance Of Amazon Business (% Base) Base: 400 US Amazon Business customers Source: MWA/OPI: Amazon Business Report

How Amazon Business Is Seen As Worse For Customer Service It’s hard to get hold of someone (top answer) After-sales service is poor Service is unreliable I cannot understand them

Importance Of Using A Local Supplier (% Base) Base: 400 US Amazon Business customers Source: MWA/OPI: Amazon Business Report

Perception Of Amazon Business’s Multi-User Accounts Facility (% Base) Base: 400 US Amazon Business customers Source: MWA/OPI: Amazon Business Report

Perception Of Amazon Business’ Business Analytics (% Base) Base: 400 US Amazon Business customers Source: MWA/OPI: Amazon Business Report

Perception Of Amazon Business’ Integration With E-Procurement System (% Base) Base: 400 US Amazon Business customers Source: MWA/OPI: Amazon Business Report

What Delivery Speed Do Amazon Business Customers Actually Want What Delivery Speed Do Amazon Business Customers Actually Want? (% Base) Base: 400 US Amazon Business customers Source: MWA/OPI: Amazon Business Report

Importance Of Free Delivery Service (% Base) Base: 400 US Amazon Business customers Source: MWA/OPI: Amazon Business Report

Future Use Of Amazon Business (% Base) Base: 400 US Amazon Business customers Source: MWA/OPI: Amazon Business Report

How To Combat Amazon Business

Interest In Using A ‘Conventional’ OP Supplier Instead Of Amazon Business (% Base) Base: 400 US Amazon Business customers Source: MWA/OPI: Amazon Business Report

What Incentive Would A Conventional Supplier Have To Offer Amazon Business Customers To Switch? Nothing would induce us to move from Amazon (38 responses) We are already using a conventional supplier: no inducement is necessary (14) Offer better prices and discounts (142 respondents) Have fast (same or next day) delivery (85) Have free/low cost shipping (57) Have better deals and promotions (26) Offer better quality products (17) Offer a wider product range (17) Improve product availability (15) Match Amazon’s prices (10) Base: 400 US Amazon Business customers Source: MWA/OPI: Amazon Business Report

How To Combat Amazon Business Keep prices as competitive as possible, especially on core OP items. Maintain a modern, highly functional e-commerce site, with fully realised SEO and B2C capabilities. Make sure you are properly resourced for the digital world. Keep your business supplies product range as wide as possible. Also sell services, which are more difficult for Amazon Business to replicate. Offer fast (ie next day), ‘free’, reliable delivery, with easy customer returns. A key perceived weakness of Amazon Business is the difficulty of consulting staff, so your sales staff must be easy to get hold of, knowledgeable, friendly and courteous. In short, you must – in the words of one survey respondent – “make it as easy as Amazon!”

Understanding and Combating the Appeal of Amazon Business Panelists: Ryan Boyington Charlie Kennedy Susan Mintmire George Wood