You probably know that Amazon Prime Day is kicking off on July 16 and 17. You may not realize that you can shop the event while still supporting local businesses -- if you’re patient.

Amazon makes it easy to find practically anything you’re looking for. This ecommerce site can be a tough sell for anyone who wants to shop local, especially since the site’s fees cut into small-business owners’ profits. The best way to support small businesses is to shop directly at their websites or storefronts, but that’s not always convenient or possible. 

The good news: you can shop small on Amazon. The bad news? It’s not the smoothest experience. The retail giant has made some improvements to its small business shopping hub since last July’s Prime Day. It’s even rolled out a small business Prime Day deals page. The process of finding what you need is still clunky.

If you’re willing to take a few extra steps to navigate Amazon’s site and be vigilant while shopping, you can land some great deals that support small businesses this Prime Day.

How to shop Prime Day deals from small businesses

This year, Amazon has launched a small business deals page to make it a little easier to find Prime Day from small businesses. It’s nice that all of the deals are corralled in one place, but it’s still not the most user-friendly experience.

All of the deals are loaded onto one page, so you’ll need to use filters on the left-side navigation panel to narrow down your search. You can also use Amazon’s search browser to help. It should be set to ‘Small business deals’ by default on this page, but double-check before searching (especially on mobile).

Watch out for sponsored ads when going through your search results. A quick search for ‘jewelry’ in the small business search bar yielded good results from small businesses, but the top section had sponsored listings that were not from small businesses.

How to tell if an Amazon product is from a small business

Whenever you search for an item on Amazon, if it’s from a small business, you’ll see a tiny icon beneath the listing on the search results page. You may need to squint (especially on your phone) to find this “Small Business” storefront icon, but it’s usually right below the price and shipping details.

If you’re on the item’s listing page, you can also double-check if it’s from a small business by looking below the “About this item” section until you find the “Additional Details” heading for the Small Business icon. 

How to find small-business products on Amazon on a laptop or desktop

It’s a little easier to browse items from small businesses on your desktop rather than on your smartphone. In addition to Amazon’s small business Prime deals page, you can find small business products on Amazon in two different ways: through the “shop small” search engine or by searching for an item and using the “Small Business” filter.

Amazon’s small business search engine

You can access Amazon’s small-business search engine on your desktop in two ways.

From the main Amazon home page, select the hamburger menu (three-line navigation bar) labeled “All” on the top left, directly underneath the Amazon logo. From there, scroll down to Programs & Features > See All > Small & Underserved Businesses > Support Small Store. This will bring you to Amazon’s Support Small search engine and landing page. From there you can search for products within the Support Small department. 
From the main Amazon home page, enter any of the below search terms in the main search box: shop small; small businesses; support small; support small businesses. Amazon will return search results as normal, but a round blue storefront icon with a “Support small businesses selling in Amazon’s store” banner will show above the results. Clicking on the icon or banner will lead you to Amazon’s Support Small search engine.

If you know what you’re shopping for, you can use this search engine to look for products. Just double-check that the department now reads “Support Small,” and then type in the name of your product. 

Amazon’s small business filter

If you don’t want to go through all of these steps, you can simply search for an item using Amazon’s search bar. Once the search results pop up, you’ll see a navigation with filters pop up on the left side of your screen. Scroll all the way down until you find “Business Type” and select “Small Business.” This will refresh your results with offerings from small businesses.

You should still keep your eye out for sponsored listings that may be mixed in. Look for the small business storefront icon below each product.

How to shop small by product category

If you want to refine your search even more, the small business page lets you choose from several product categories, including:

Once you click on a category, you can browse or enter a product name in the specific search engine to narrow your search results.

You can also search for handmade items through Amazon’s handmade search portal.

How to shop small by business owner type

You can refine your searches even more and shop by business type on the Small Business landing page. Current types include: 

This will take you to another business-type hub page where you can browse by category or use the search bar.

How to shop local on Amazon

Amazon Handmade, a hub where you can find items made by artisans and crafters, lets you narrow your results by region.

Regions include:

Once selected, you can use the filters on the left-hand navigation to browse by category. You can also drill down further to filter on a specific state. If you use the search bar, your item search will be limited to handmade items, but won’t be region-specific.

How to shop small businesses on your phone

It’s possible to shop small using a mobile browser or the Amazon Shopping app on your phone, but it’s a clunkier process than a desktop browser.

The easiest way is to search for the item you want using Amazon’s search bar, and then selecting “filters.” Scroll all the way down to the bottom and under “Business Type” select “Small Business.” You’ll need to then click on the “Show results” button to repopulate your search results.

You can also go straight to the Small Business Curated Categories page or the Prime Day small business deals page, and then proceed to browse.

The last option is to enter “support small” in the Amazon search engine on your phone or mobile app, then click on the round blue storefront icon that pops up. That will lead you to Amazon’s Support Small search engine. From there, you can search like normal, but keep in mind that you may get a mix of results from different businesses. If you want to make sure it’s from a small business, look for the “Small Business” icon on the listing. 

If this option doesn’t work on your phone app, try going to the Amazon website via your mobile browser.

Alternative ways to support small businesses online

The best way to support a local or small business online is by shopping their website (if they have one) directly. There are also other sites that aim to help you support local businesses and find American-made products, even if these sites may lack Amazon’s scope (and the delivery speed of Amazon Prime). These include:

Etsy: Offers handmade, vintage and unique gifts; has a filter for US-based shops.
Cultivate: Provides links to American-made products; has a Chrome extension. 
ShopwhereIlive: Serves links to local small businesses.

Many small businesses also have their own online shops. An easy way to search for small businesses near you (if you don’t have a specific one in mind) is through the American Express Shop Small Now tool. Enter your ZIP code or turn on location services and this tool will serve up local businesses near you. You can also use Yelp or Google Maps to search for local businesses in your area.

Do small businesses pay fees to sell on Amazon?

Like all sellers on the site, small businesses pay fees to list and sell products through Amazon. It currently has two selling plans, one that costs 99 cents per unit sold -- designed for businesses selling less than 40 items per month -- and one that charges a flat $40 per month. There are other fees small businesses need to take into account, including Amazon’s referral fee (between 5% and 45%); and other miscellaneous fees.

If you want the small business to keep more of their profit, shop from them directly if you can. If buying online is the best way for you to support them, Amazon gives you that option.