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 atAmazon. “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. Amazoncontinues 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 inRockport, 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 AmazonStorefronts, 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.
Sarah Ulmer
