States with large rural populations have the fastest-growing small
and medium-sized businesses according to Amazon report
Recent study from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce found that unlocking
the digital potential of rural small businesses could add $47 billion to
the U.S. GDP per year
More than half of the items sold in Amazon’s stores are from small
and medium-sized businesses
SEATTLE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) today announced the 10 states with the
fastest-growing small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) selling in
Amazon’s stores. The report examined year-over-year sales growth of
businesses selling in Amazon’s stores across all 50 states and found
that SMBs in Mississippi are growing the fastest, with businesses in
Nebraska, Maine, Texas, and Indiana rounding out the top five.
Third-party gross physical merchandise sales – primarily comprised of
SMBs selling in Amazon stores – surpassed $160 billion in 2018 and make
up more than half of the units sold in Amazon’s stores.
“We’re thrilled to see so many small businesses in states with large
rural populations like Mississippi, Maine, Vermont, and North Dakota
growing their sales fastest in our stores,” said Nick Denissen, VP at
Amazon. “Online selling enables rural businesses to complement their
offline sales in physical stores by reaching customers they wouldn’t
otherwise have access to as easily. Research shows that increased
adoption of online tools and digital services could grow annual revenues
of rural small businesses by 21% over the next three years and create
360,000 jobs in rural communities. Amazon continues to invest billions
of dollars to develop tools and services that help small businesses
reach new customers.”
The top 10 states with the fastest-growing SMBs:
1. Mississippi
2. Nebraska
3. Maine
4. Texas
5.
Indiana
6. Colorado
7. North Dakota
8. Vermont
9.
Wisconsin
10. Missouri
A recent
study conducted with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce showed that nearly
20 percent of rural small businesses in America generate at least 80
percent of their revenue by selling their products and services online.
The study also found that online tools and technology have the highest
potential impact on rural small businesses with revenue under $100,000.
“Small businesses in rural America are significant contributors to the
U.S. economy. Access to digital tools allows rural small businesses to
successfully start, scale and compete in a global economy – regardless
of their size and location,” said Tim Day, senior vice president of
C_TEC, the U.S. Chamber’s Technology Engagement Center.
“Since joining Amazon Handmade in 2015, my sales have doubled
year-over-year,” said Casey Everett, owner of Hearth and Harrow based in
Rockport, Maine. “Selling online has allowed me to create a business I
love in a community that I love. With Amazon, I’m able to reach
customers in Germany from my home-studio in Maine – it’s incredible.”
Small and medium-sized businesses selling in Amazon’s stores come from
every state in the U.S., and more than 130 countries around the world.
In 2018, more than 50,000 SMBs exceeded $500,000 in sales in Amazon’s
stores worldwide, and nearly 200,000 surpassed $100,000 in sales. The
number of SMBs eclipsing $1 million in sales in Amazon’s stores
worldwide grew by 20 percent last year.
To help small and medium-sized businesses thrive, Amazon last year
created Amazon
Storefronts, a store for customers to shop exclusively from U.S.
small and medium-sized businesses selling in Amazon’s stores. With
Storefronts, customers can shop a curated collection of over one million
products and deals from nearly 20,000 U.S. small and medium-sized
businesses, and learn more about profiled businesses through featured
videos and stories.
The company is also hosting a variety of events to educate sellers,
including Amazon Academy events across Europe, the Boost Conference
specifically for businesses using Fulfillment by Amazon, and the new
Selling Partner Summits across the U.S. The new Selling
Partner Summits are a series of six conferences designed to help
sellers grow their business in Amazon’s stores. The Selling Partner
Summits, which were announced in February, sold out quickly in just six
weeks.
To learn more about small and medium-sized businesses selling in
Amazon’s stores, visit: aboutamazon.com/smallbusiness.
About Amazon
Amazon is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than
competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational
excellence, and long-term thinking. Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping,
personalized recommendations, Prime, Fulfillment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle
Direct Publishing, Kindle, Fire tablets, Fire TV, Amazon Echo, and Alexa
are some of the products and services pioneered by Amazon. For more
information, visit www.amazon.com/about and
follow @AmazonNews.
Contacts
Amazon.com, Inc.
Media Hotline
[email protected]
www.amazon.com/pr
