Why Single-Channel Amazon Sellers Are Losing Market Share to Multi-Channel Brands

TL;DR: Single-channel Amazon sellers face growing vulnerability as account suspensions affected 35% of sellers in 2024. Multi-channel brands generate 140% more revenue and retain 90% more customers. Expanding to TikTok Shop, Walmart, and direct channels reduces platform dependency while capturing new customer segments.

Key Takeaways 

1. Account suspensions impacted over 35% of Amazon sellers in 2024, with mid-sized businesses experiencing the highest rates. 
2. Multi-channel businesses generate significantly more revenue than single-channel sellers through expanded reach and increased purchase frequency. 
3. Omni-channel retailers retain 90% more customers compared to single-channel stores, creating compounding long-term value. 
4. TikTok Shop reached $9 billion in US GMV during 2024 with 650% year-over-year growth, offering established brands massive new audience access. 
5. Multichannel e-commerce sales in the US totaled more than $575 billion, proving massive market opportunity. 

What are the biggest risks of selling only on Amazon? 

Account suspensions impacted over 35% of Amazon sellers in 2024, with mid-sized businesses experiencing the highest suspension rates. This represents a significant increase from previous years as Amazon has shifted from product-level enforcement to full account deactivation for policy violations. 

When your entire revenue stream depends on a single platform, one policy violation or algorithmic change can eliminate your income overnight. Amazon’s performance requirements have become increasingly strict, with multiple metrics monitored continuously for compliance violations. 

Beyond suspension risk, single-channel sellers face increasing customer acquisition costs as Amazon’s marketplace grows more competitive. With over 1.9 million active sellers competing for visibility, advertising costs continue rising while organic reach declines. Multi-channel brands can offset these costs by diversifying their customer acquisition sources across platforms with different competitive dynamics. 

Platform dependency also limits pricing flexibility and profit margins. Amazon’s fee structure and competitive pricing pressure force many sellers into thin-margin situations with little room for error. Diversifying across channels with different fee structures and competitive environments provides more control over profitability. 

How much more revenue do multi-channel sellers actually generate? 

Businesses selling through three or more channels generate over 140% more revenue than those operating on fewer channels. This revenue lift comes from expanded market reach, increased purchase frequency, and higher average order values across the full customer base. 

Companies implementing omni-channel customer engagement strategies experience sales revenue growth averaging 179% higher compared to companies without integrated multi-channel approaches. The growth difference compounds over time as multi-channel sellers build customer relationships across multiple touchpoints rather than relying on single-platform discovery. 

The revenue advantage extends beyond just top-line sales. Multi-channel businesses benefit from superior customer lifetime value, with omnichannel customers delivering approximately 30% higher lifetime returns compared to single-channel shoppers. This premium reflects sustained engagement over longer timeframes, higher retention rates, and increased purchase frequency. 

Multichannel ecommerce sales in the US totaled more than $575 billion, demonstrating the scale of opportunity for established brands expanding beyond single platforms. Brands present on multiple platforms capture multi-touchpoint customer journeys, while single-channel sellers miss opportunities when customers research across different environments. 

Why is TikTok Shop growing so fast in the United States? 

TikTok Shop generated $9 billion in US GMV during 2024, representing 650% year-over-year growth from its September 2023 launch. By H1 2025, the platform was generating over $1 billion in monthly US GMV, with total first-half revenue reaching $5.8 billion (up 91% year-over-year). This explosive growth creates massive new customer reach for brands willing to adapt to the platform. 

The platform’s growth stems from its unique content-first commerce model. Unlike traditional marketplaces where customers search for specific products, TikTok Shop embeds purchasing directly into the discovery experience. About 58% of purchases come from the video feed, 32% from in-app shops, and 10% from live streaming. This distribution pattern means brands can reach customers through entertaining, educational content rather than competing solely on search rankings and advertising. 

TikTok Shop’s affiliate ecosystem drives significant revenue, with influencers generating $5.4 billion in GMV (60% of total sales) through videos and live streams. The platform makes it easy for established brands to partner with creators who already have engaged audiences, dramatically reducing customer acquisition costs compared to paid advertising on other channels. 

The platform currently hosts 398,000+ U.S. stores, with over 1,000 stores exceeding $1 million in annual GMV. Beauty & Personal Care leads at $2.5 billion (22% of total GMV), followed by fashion and health categories. For established brands with visual appeal and strong storytelling potential, TikTok Shop represents one of the fastest-growing customer acquisition channels available today. 

Is Walmart Marketplace less competitive than Amazon for established brands? 

Walmart Marketplace hosts significantly fewer active sellers compared to Amazon’s 1.9 million active merchants. This lower seller density means less competition for visibility, often resulting in lower advertising costs and higher organic placement potential for established brands meeting Walmart’s seller requirements. 

The lower competition levels translate into tangible advantages for approved sellers. With fewer competing listings in most categories, established brands can achieve stronger organic visibility without the intense bidding wars that characterize Amazon’s advertising environment. Customer acquisition costs on Walmart often run lower than Amazon equivalents, improving unit economics for brands operating across both platforms. 

Walmart’s application process requires brands to demonstrate business credibility, product quality standards, and fulfillment capabilities. While these requirements create barriers for new or unproven sellers, they benefit brands by limiting competition from low-quality or unprofessional sellers who saturate Amazon’s marketplace. For brands already meeting these standards through Amazon operations, Walmart represents a lower-competition channel for the same customer base. 

Do multi-channel customers spend more and stay longer? 

Omnichannel retailers retain 90% more customers than single-channel stores, creating compounding value through both higher repeat purchase rates and extended customer lifecycles. When customers can shop across their preferred channels rather than being constrained to a single platform, they develop stronger brand loyalty and purchase more frequently. 

Customers who purchase through multiple channels deliver 30% higher lifetime return on investment than single-channel shoppers. The lifetime value premium reflects sustained engagement patterns where multi-channel customers continue buying over longer periods, respond more favorably to marketing communications across different environments, and demonstrate greater willingness to try new products from brands they can access through their preferred channels. 

How Helium 10 helps established brands scale across multiple channels 

Helium 10 provides unified profit tracking across Amazon, TikTok Shop, and Walmart from a single dashboard. Instead of logging into three separate platforms to understand total business performance, you can see consolidated revenue, costs, and profitability metrics across all channels. This visibility is critical for making informed decisions about where to allocate advertising budgets, which channels deserve more inventory investment, and how to optimize pricing strategies across different marketplace dynamics. 

The platform supports over 4.5 million users worldwide managing more than $7 billion in monthly Amazon GMV, with expanding capabilities across 24+ marketplaces. As you grow from single-channel Amazon operations to multi-platform presence, Helium 10’s infrastructure scales with your business without requiring separate tools for each marketplace. 

Helium 10 Ads manages advertising campaigns across multiple platforms with automated bid adjustments, budget pacing, and performance analytics. When you’re running PPC campaigns on Amazon, TikTok Shop ads, and Walmart Connect simultaneously, centralized campaign management prevents budget waste and identifies which platforms deliver the strongest return on ad spend for specific products or categories. 

Multi-channel expansion doesn’t mean starting from zero on each platform. Helium 10’s research tools help you identify which existing products will perform best on new channels based on search volume, competition levels, and demand patterns specific to each marketplace. This data-driven approach to channel expansion reduces the risk of inventory investments in untested markets while maximizing the probability of successful launches on platforms like TikTok Shop or Walmart. 

Ready to expand your Amazon business to TikTok Shop? Sign up for Helium 10 to access the listing converter, product research, keyword analysis, and dashboards that make cross-channel expansion measurable and manageable.