Kentucky State agricultural economist Dr. Chinonso Etumnu examines how digital marketplace infrastructure can support producers, agribusinesses, and entrepreneurs.

For agricultural producers, food entrepreneurs, and other businesses, digital marketplaces can provide access to customers far beyond their local communities. Success, however, depends not only on what they sell but also on whether buyers trust them to deliver.

New research led by a Kentucky State University agricultural economist found that third-party sellers using Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) tend to have better reputations, as measured by customer ratings, with medium-sized sellers gaining the greatest reputational benefit.

The peer-reviewed article, “Platform Fulfillment and Seller Reputation: Evidence From Amazon’s Marketplace,” was recently published in the Journal of Agricultural Economics. The authors are Dr. Chinonso E. Etumnu, assistant professor of agribusiness marketing at Kentucky State, and Dr. Kenneth A. Foster, professor of agricultural economics at Purdue University.

Although the study spans product categories and countries, its focus reflects the expanding reach of digital marketplaces. Producers and agribusinesses increasingly depend on digital platforms, logistics networks, and consumer ratings to reach customers and compete.

“The food value chain extends from what happens on the farm to the systems that connect producers and agribusinesses with consumers,” Dr. Etumnu said. “Thus, understanding how digital marketplaces create trust and shape competition can help all entrepreneurs, including agribusinesses, make better decisions about reaching and serving their customers.”

FBA allows third-party sellers to use Amazon’s logistics infrastructure for order fulfillment, delivery, customer service, and returns. Participation also makes products eligible for Amazon Prime, providing greater visibility and a more standardized fulfillment experience.

Dr. Etumnu analyzed 26 weeks of data from 155,332 sellers and more than 4 million observations from Amazon marketplaces in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Seller reputation was measured through average customer ratings over 30 days, 90 days, one year, and the seller’s lifetime on the platform.

Across all three countries, participation in the program was positively associated with seller ratings. The relationship was strongest in recent 30- and 90-day ratings and less pronounced in one-year and lifetime ratings, which reflect a longer history of customer experiences. The largest gains appeared among sellers in Canada, where the country’s dispersed population and less extensive third-party logistics infrastructure may increase the value of Amazon’s centralized network.

Seller size also shaped the findings. Although large sellers generally had the strongest existing reputations, medium-sized sellers benefited most from the program. They may be sufficiently large to use Amazon’s infrastructure efficiently but not yet possess the independent logistics and customer-service capacity available to the largest businesses.

However, the researchers caution that the methodology does not support definitive claims that FBA participation directly causes higher ratings. Despite this, the generalizability of the findings across analytical approaches, countries, seller sizes, and rating periods provides evidence of an association between Amazon-managed fulfillment and seller reputation.

The study advances Kentucky State’s 1890 land-grant mission by examining the changing economic systems in which retailers, producers, entrepreneurs, and agribusinesses operate. Findings may inform future research and outreach related to the digital food economy.

Support for the project came through the USDA Evans-Allen Capacity Grant program (Project No. 7005599), which funds agricultural research at 1890 land-grant institutions. Research assistants Ayodola Olatunji, Sophia Njoh, and Emmanuel Obielodan contributed to data collection.