Dive Brief:

• Sellers from more than 100 countries sold more than 2 billion units through Amazon Marketplace in 2014, setting a new record, the company said Monday. 

• Sales from Chinese and Hong Kong sellers were especially brisk and grew 80% from 2013.

• Sales from Amazon Marketplace sellers accounted for 40% of goods sold through Amazon last year.

Dive Insight:

It may surprise many people to note how much of Amazon’s sales came from outside sellers last year. This makes the e-retail giant resemble China’s Alibaba marketplace quite a bit. Unlike Alibaba, though, Amazon provides fulfillment at a variety of levels for many sellers.

The company says that year-over-year growth of its fulfillment and customer service topped 65%. The growth of mobile and web commerce will likely only fuel this aspect of Amazon’s business. In fact, it's this area that some say could finally lead Amazon to its elusive profits.