Online selling improving SME resilience, Amazon reports

The report, Small and Medium Business Empowerment Report, revealed that in the past 12 months, 14,000 Australian businesses, many of them SMEs, have started selling in Amazon stores with 27 million units sold that equates to 50 units a minute.

The report uses specially commissioned research by YouGov of SMEs across various sectors alongside data reflecting the experience of businesses across Australia selling locally and globally through Amazon.

It showed that six in 10 (57 per cent) small-business owners and key decision-makers believe that there are benefits of international export for their businesses. Similarly, SMEs that sell internationally were more likely to have reported increased revenue over the past 12 months with 53 per cent of exporting SMEs increasing their revenues v 35 per cent for those who did not export.

Amazon reported that Australian SMEs using online stores to export are significantly more likely to report revenue growth overall (64 per cent) compared with those who weren’t (43 per cent) and more likely to report revenue growth from exporting specifically (51 per cent compared to 40 per cent).

Country manager, Amazon marketplace Australia and Singapore, Amit Mahto, said that online stores are offering Australian businesses a sense of resilience in an uncertain global economy.

“Despite an ongoing pandemic, natural disasters and economic uncertainty, Australia’s SME sector continued to thrive in the 12 months to July 2022 with the help of online sales and exports,” said Mr Mahto.

“Supporting our home-grown SME sellers is important for Amazon Australia and we are committed to empowering our local SMBs through unique business tools, training and marketing opportunities. We are proud to support the future success of Australian SMBs in an increasingly challenging economic environment.”

The report estimated that Australian businesses selling on Amazon globally have created more than 20,000 jobs in Australia to support their Amazon-related business activities.

Amazon Australia will use the findings of the report to develop stronger SME seller support programs to help local sellers build and grow their businesses, improving resilience across the retail sector.