One anonymised account managed by EXPANDO did €750k on Amazon.co.uk in its first twelve months, almost from zero and with returns under 5%. Why the UK is growing faster than Germany, what put competitors off after Brexit, and what we take on when entering the British market.
One brand did around €750k on Amazon UK last year. In its first twelve months. On a market most of the sellers we talk to would not even put on the list.
Almost everyone starts the same way. Germany. It is the logical choice, the largest European market. But because everyone heads there, "largest" also becomes "most crowded" — and the most interesting growth often happens just next door.
Take one account we run end to end at EXPANDO, from getting the goods into the UK through to account health. Its first year on Amazon.co.uk:
| Metric | First 12 months |
|---|---|
| GMV on a single marketplace | €750k — almost from zero |
| Orders | ~9,000 |
| Units sold | 12,000+ |
| Average order value | ~£70 |
| Returns | ~5% — below the category standard |
| Account health throughout | "Great" |
| From zero to full operation | 12 months |
Anonymised account managed by EXPANDO · Amazon.co.uk · 12 months · values rounded.
Returns and account health matter more than they look. Low returns and a healthy account mean the growth did not run on aggressive discounting or a burned PPC budget. It is revenue that holds.
The gap — 12.7% against 8.7% — has a fairly prosaic explanation. After Brexit, a lot of European sellers simply crossed the UK off the list: customs, UK VAT, extra paperwork. Demand stayed, but the shelf thinned out. Anyone who can handle those few administrative steps is selling into less of a crowd than in Germany.
And the account above is neither an accident nor luck. Entering a new market is what we do at EXPANDO for 963+ clients across 80 markets — as one of the few certified Amazon solution providers in CEE.
When we ask brands why they are not on the UK yet, the answer repeats itself: "Brexit, customs, VAT, paperwork. Too much work." We understand that, and that is exactly the part we take on in full.
| Area | What we do | Client's work |
|---|---|---|
| 01 — Shipping Getting stock into the UK via UPS | We ship via UPS on a preferential partner rate. Delivery from Europe within a few days. | UPS partner |
| 02 — Customs Post-Brexit clearance | Customs clearance and the accompanying documents stay on our side. | none |
| 03 — Tax UK VAT and EORI | We arrange and maintain the registration and the periodic returns for the client. | none |
| 04 — Account Running Amazon.co.uk | Listings, pricing and the Buy Box, customer care and watching account health. | day-to-day operation |
We ship via UPS on a preferential partner rate, so the client runs on our rates instead of their own price list. A consignment from Europe reaches the UK within a few days. And because the UK does not allow delivery to pickup points the way the rest of Europe does, a reliable carrier here is the difference between this working and not working.
Post-Brexit customs clearance, UK VAT registration, EORI and the returns all stay on our side. So do the paperwork and the reporting. And then there is running the account itself — listings, pricing and the Buy Box, customer care and watching account health. The client supplies the goods; the rest is our job.
If your listings are already in English, this is not a project measured in months but closer to a quick launch, because nothing needs translating again. Brexit stopped being a barrier a long time ago, provided customs and tax are handled by someone who does it daily. And the market's momentum, as the figures above show, is on the UK's side right now.
None of this cancels Germany. It just should not be the only line in your plan.
Yes. Brexit added customs and tax steps, but they are not a barrier for a seller as long as logistics, customs and UK VAT are handled by an experienced partner. The market also grew faster than Germany last year.
In most cases, yes. We arrange and maintain the UK VAT registration, the EORI number and the periodic returns for you.
If your listings are already in English, it is closer to a launch than a long project, because content translation drops out. The exact timeline depends on your assortment and how ready your feed is.
Source of the account figures: internal order ledger, Amazon.co.uk, 12 months, values rounded and the client not named. Market data: Amazon annual report 2024.
For the wider picture, see our overview of marketplaces and the detail on selling on Amazon.
Want to know whether the UK makes sense for you too?
Get in touch. We will look at your specific products and tell you straight whether selling on Amazon UK is worth it. If it is, we will get it running.
Share this article on a social media.
