Amazon has officially launched its retail offering in Australia at Amazon.com.au following an announcement earlier in the year that CEDIA and Amazon will be working together to bolster the profile of the CEDIA channel through the Amazon website.

The partnership between CEDIA and Amazon involves exclusive discounts on the Amazon Business site for CEDIA members, Amazon using CEDIA’s expertise to grow its Smart Home Division and Amazon profiling the work of integrators to its extensive customer database. Amazon will also refer customers to integrators in their area but this service will only be available to CEDIA-certified integrators.

“This partnership with Amazon will solve two primary concerns held by some of our members. First, this will increase customer awareness of our industry and second, it will go a long way to explain the benefits of using a CEDIA-certified integrator. If you’re not certified, you can’t be part of this initiative,” says CEDIA chairman Dennis Erskine.

The selection at Amazon.com.au includes products from well-known Australian brands, as well as small and medium-sized Australian businesses selling on Amazon Marketplace. Globally, approximately 50% of Amazon’s total units come from Marketplace sellers.

Amazon Marketplace connects customers to millions of products and helps sellers reach more than 300 million active customers worldwide. In 2016, more than 100,000 small businesses across the globe achieved sales of over $US100,000 through selling on Amazon.

Australian company KoalaSafe has sold its products on Amazon Marketplace since 2015.

“Small businesses and retailers across the country should be excited about Amazon launching in Australia. While it can be a challenge to ensure potential customers find your website, Amazon already has hundreds of millions of customers around the world searching for new products. The visibility and access Amazon provides is an enormous opportunity for all businesses,” says KoalaSafe chief technology officer and founder Adam Mills.

Australian customers will also be able to access Prime Video and Twitch Prime and Amazon expects to launch Prime shipping benefits in Australia in mid-2018.