Amazon Business surpasses €50 billion: threat or opportunity for wholesale footwear?

Amazon Business grows at an unstoppable pace: what happened?

Amazon Business, the corporate purchasing division of the e-commerce giant, has announced that it reached €50 billion in annualized gross sales during the second quarter of 2026. In just six months, the platform has added more than 1.8 million new organizations, raising its total business customer base to over 11 million in the eleven countries where it operates. Its clients include 97 of the Fortune 100 companies and 50% of the IBEX 35, including Spanish names such as Cosentino, Repsol, and Cabify.

Amazon Business's offering is not limited to providing products: it gives companies tools to control employee spending, manage approval workflows, and access exclusive corporate prices. Shelley Salomon, worldwide vice president of Amazon Business, has emphasized that business confidence is reflected in this continued growth and that the group is developing new ways to help its clients save time and costs.

This news is not just a statistic. For the wholesale footwear sector in Spain, it represents a turning point in the way companies source their needs, from office supplies to, potentially, professional footwear or even final products for resale.

Implications for wholesale footwear: direct competitor or ally?

The emergence of Amazon Business in the B2B ecosystem poses a direct challenge to traditional footwear wholesalers. Until now, the supply channel for shoe stores typically involved trade fairs like Micam or Iberpiel, direct contacts with factories, and catalogs from specialized distributors. Amazon Business offers an automated alternative with fast shipping and easy returns, which can be very attractive for small and medium-sized retailers looking to simplify their purchases.

For a shoe store, the risk is that the buyer chooses to order small batches of shoes through Amazon Business instead of placing bulk orders with a local wholesaler. This erodes the critical volume that distributors need to maintain margins. In addition, the platform allows companies to compare prices instantly, which puts downward pressure on the margins of traditional suppliers.

However, there is also an opportunity. Footwear wholesalers can consider listing their products on Amazon Business as an additional sales channel, reaching companies that might never attend a trade fair. The key is to understand that Amazon Business is not just a competitor but an ecosystem where wholesale footwear can find new business clients, as long as positioning, inventory, and logistics are properly managed.

The Spanish context: how does it affect local shoe stores and wholesalers?

In Spain, the wholesale footwear sector carries significant weight, especially in areas like Elche (Alicante) or Almansa (Albacete). The tradition of face-to-face business relationships remains strong, but digitalization is advancing relentlessly. The news that Amazon Business already works with half of the IBEX 35 indicates that large corporations trust the platform; small and medium shoe stores will likely follow that path.

For Spanish wholesalers, competition from Amazon Business forces them to reinforce their differential advantages: personalized service, customer knowledge, flexibility in orders, and technical advice on trends and sizing. They cannot compete in logistics speed or gross price, but they can compete in added value. A wholesaler that helps the retailer select the right product for their local audience, offers adapted payment terms, or facilitates surplus exchange will have a niche that is difficult for an algorithm to replicate.

Furthermore, Amazon Business itself has limitations in footwear: it cannot offer the same advice on material quality, fit, or durability as a specialist. For the retailer, buying footwear blindly through a platform can lead to returns and dissatisfied customers. That is where the advantage of the traditional wholesaler lies.

Strategies for the footwear wholesaler not to miss the boat

Far from panicking, the footwear wholesaler should take note and act. First, digitize their catalog and allow online orders, even if through their own B2B platform. Second, strengthen the customer relationship by offering services that Amazon does not: physical samples, sales visits, flexible payment terms, and guaranteed stock for complete collections.

It is also advisable to specialize in niches where Amazon cannot easily compete: orthopedic footwear, customized safety shoes, fast-moving fashion footwear or high-end products. Amazon's high volume is aimed at standardized products; differentiation remains a shield.

Conclusion: the market is transforming, not disappearing

The growth of Amazon Business is a symptom of the digitalization of business sourcing. For wholesale footwear in Spain, it is a challenge but also a stimulus to modernize. Shoe stores seeking agility in their purchases may choose Amazon, but those that value advice and product quality will continue to trust specialized wholesalers. The key is for the wholesaler to adapt to a customer already accustomed to the immediacy and transparency of the online channel.

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