Just in time for this year's Prime Day shopping event, Amazon.com launched its new Small Business badge to highlight small and artisan brands on its Marketplace, as well as its “Support Small Businesses to Win Big” sweepstakes. The e-commerce giant is also offering curated collections for consumers to shop from Black-owned, women-owned, and Veteran-owned businesses.

In this video interview, Keri Cusick, director of small business empowerment at Amazon, shares more details about these initiatives, how businesses can qualify to have the Small Business badge displayed on their listings, and incentives for consumers to purchase from SMBs selling on Amazon. She also discusses the significant role that technology plays in supporting SMB sellers, the resources available to small business owners, and shares examples of successful SMBs utilizing Amazon, and Prime Day, for growth.

Keri Cusick is the director of small business empowerment at Amazon. The Small Business Empowerment team is focused on driving the success of Amazon’s small business partners, and works with teams across Amazon to deliver programs and investments that support their continued growth. Keri joined Amazon in June 2014, and prior to leading Small Business Empowerment, she has held a number of roles across the Legal and Customer Trust & Partner Support teams, which are responsible for creating a trustworthy shopping experience across Amazon’s store worldwide by protecting customers, brands, selling partners and Amazon from fraud, counterfeit and abuse as well as empowering, providing world‐class support, and building loyalty with Amazon’s millions of selling partners. Prior to joining Amazon, Keri practiced commercial litigation and also spent time as an in-house attorney for Siemens Energy focused on renewable energy projects. Keri is a graduate of the University of Florida’s Fredric G. Levin College of Law, where she earned a Juris Doctorate degree. She also holds a B.A. in History and a B.A. in English from Covenant College.