With a monthly salary of 35k, is independent website operation more popular than Amazon operation?

As far as the cross-border e-commerce track is concerned, cultivating third-party platforms is undoubtedly the first choice for many sellers. However, under the influence of multiple factors such as the epidemic and account suspension, some sellers have already understood the importance of multi-channel layout to disperse risks. Independent sites have become the "third leg" for platform sellers to seek profits and avoid risks with their own natural advantages, and are rapidly rising.

At the same time, independent station operators have become the object of competition among many sellers, and their salaries have also risen sharply, and their average monthly salary has even exceeded that of Amazon operators. As the aftershocks of account suspensions have caused some sellers to fall into business difficulties, and independent stations are supported by the government and favored by capital, cross-border e-commerce operators have also fallen into deep thought: "Amazon VS independent station operation, which one is better?

Independent website operation salary exceeds Amazon operation

In the past two years, as some sellers have begun to build independent sites, independent site operation talents have become popular among sellers, and some sellers even choose to hire them with high salaries.

Data from a recruitment website shows that in the first quarter of 2022, the average monthly salary of independent station operators in Guangzhou has exceeded that of Amazon, reaching more than 9k. Compared with the almost similar data of the two in September last year, it is clear that a qualitative change has taken place.

After investigating a recruitment website, the editor found that in Guangzhou, Amazon sellers have almost no educational requirements when recruiting operators. Some require a college degree and 1-3 years of work experience; while independent station operators mostly require a bachelor's degree and 1-3 years or even more than 3 years of work experience. At the same time, many HRs said that independent stations will not accept operators with less than one year of work experience.

The salaries offered by Amazon and independent websites are very different for operators with different years of experience. For operators with 1-3 years of experience, the monthly salary offered by independent websites is 7k-15k, while that offered by Amazon is 6k-11k; for operators with 3-5 years of experience, the monthly salary can even reach 11k-35k.

According to the data, the salary of independent station operators has been on the rise, from an average monthly salary of 5k in 2016 to around 9k today. In addition, although the demand for Amazon operations is much higher than that for independent stations, the demand for independent station operations has been growing. Take Shenzhen as an example, the demand for independent station operations positions ranks first in the country, with a job demand of 3.8k, and it is still growing.

With the lure of high salaries and good market prospects, it is not difficult to see why some Amazon operators choose to transform into independent site operators.

Comparing the operations of Amazon and independent sites, we can find the following differences: Amazon's operations are not subdivided, while independent sites are subdivided into promotion, social operation and other positions according to the work content; compared with the platform's weaker autonomy, the marketing, traffic and comments of independent sites give operations greater autonomy; unlike the platform's focus on comments and listings, independent sites are more concerned with traffic and refined operations; on the platform, sellers rely more on products, prices and good reviews to win, but independent sites emphasize building their own brands.

It seems that there is a qualitative difference between independent website operation and Amazon operation. In terms of job requirements, independent website operation requires stronger operational capabilities and will be more challenging, but whether you choose Amazon operation or independent website operation, these positions have their own development prospects, and the key is still to look at personal development plans.

Nearly 20% of companies are planning to make an independent website. Is it easy to build an independent website in this trend?

According to a 2022 report by Haixi Cross-border Talent Network , among more than 1,000 cross-border e-commerce companies, 15% of companies have already deployed independent sites, and another 20% of companies plan to deploy independent sites this year.

The trend of independent sites can be seen in the financial reports of many big sellers.

Lechuang : In 2021, the revenue of its independent site reached 527 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 89.19%, and the number of buyers on its independent site reached 240,000.

Zebao : In 2021, the revenue of the independent site reached 119 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 101%.

Anker : In 2021, the revenue of the independent site reached 390 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 92.47%.

Zi Buyu: In the past three years, the compound annual growth rate of GMV sales on self-operated sites reached 680.0%.

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In addition to the above-mentioned big sellers who have achieved initial success in setting up independent sites, some sellers are also flocking to the independent site track. UNDERSTANCE, a brand under Huijie Co., Ltd., has launched an independent site in North America in 2021; Yinghantong has established a digital marketing department and opened an independent site; Xingyun Group, which started out as an import e-commerce supply chain, is also preparing to expand its overseas independent sites, claiming to be comparable to Shopify, which has a revenue of 140 billion yuan.

As early as June 2021, the Shenzhen Bureau of Commerce issued a financial support policy for companies that expand overseas markets through independent station sales channels. Some sellers who failed in the wave of account closures began to place more hope on independent stations in order to rejuvenate their "second spring."

There is no doubt that with the continuous improvement of the independent station ecosystem and the support of domestic policies, the number of independent stations has risen to a new level. According to data, the number of independent stations established by China overseas has reached 200,000, which to a certain extent shows the popularity of Chinese sellers building their own stations.

When independent stations became a hot topic in the industry, sellers had a more urgent need for professional operations talent, which in turn led to a surge in demand for independent station operations positions.

An HR said that the company is gradually increasing its investment in independent websites and is in urgent need of talents in independent website construction, channel promotion, etc. In order to recruit satisfactory operations, the salary during recruitment has been raised from 7k to 10k, but it is still unable to recruit suitable operations.

As operating costs rise, the only ones who are happy are the workers. As the demand side for independent station operation talents, sellers are also unable to laugh when facing the rising operating salaries, and small and medium-sized sellers are the most direct "witnesses".

"I was hit in the second round of sales, and the company is on the verge of bankruptcy. I want to run the independent website well to make up for the losses, but I can't hire good operators without money . What can I do? " An independent website seller expressed the sadness of many sellers who have transformed to independent websites.

A large number of sellers cannot build independent websites. In addition to not being able to recruit suitable operation talents, they also face problems such as burning money and difficulty in obtaining traffic. Different from the conventional platform methods, independent websites are another set of methods. For sellers, building websites, operating, attracting traffic, and even supply chain and logistics distribution are all knowledge points that need to be learned urgently.

It is undeniable that independent websites are indeed a hot topic and an important channel for sellers to develop cross-border e-commerce. Especially after independent websites became popular again last year, many sellers began to develop their own independent websites, but they all shelved them after half a year. This is also a warning to sellers. They must clearly realize that it is not that easy to build an independent website. Even if they choose to build an independent website, they need to plan ahead according to their own strength.

After all, only a few people can stand out, while most people just look at the top.

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