Comparing Envato with Apple Store or Amazon is a nosense. Come on, how many users/potential customers these platforms have? You can´t compare markets and niches. A Wordpress theme is not an App or a TV. Everybody needs stuff from Amazon and everybody uses apps, but the market is not comparable with WP themes, CC scripts, VH files… this is not so massive.
Also, Envato said that the US movement would return in thousand of new buyers… did you see anybody new in there? Because I did not.
Now, Envato´s footer says that 6 and half million users are in the platform. I´d love to see the real numbers (duplicated accounts, inactive accounts, fake accounts…), this is not a so big marketplace. Of course, Envato has not competitor and because of this they do what they do and how they do it. But you can´t compare this place with Amazon or Apple Store (real million of potential customers).
The strategy behind I think is to create million of references (based in new items) with a good SEO base to drive traffic to sell the golden eggs here, the mastodontic themes that all of us we know. Here is the real money and not in the last 100 item that they won´t make more than 500USD in total sells, you just need to check this out. But they are the worm in the fishing rod.