While ‘The Donald’ may be hitting out at Amazon for, among other things, destroying the US Postal Service and having way too much retail power, SME retailers themselves hold a contrary view.
According to a study of more than 2,400 SME business owners in the US conducted by Insureon and online small business directory Manta, 43% who sell products online say they have experienced significant revenue growth, much of it down to Amazon and eBay.
In fact, the poll reveals that, while 66% use their company website for sales, 24% sell products on Amazon, and 22% use eBay. When asked about the impact of marketplaces on their sales, 68% said that they had had a positive impact.
When asked if their revenue has increased as a result of selling products online, 43% say it has had a significant impact, 38% say their revenue has increased moderately and 19% say selling online only had a minimal impact on revenue.
The study does, however, go on to show that 71% of small business owners do not currently sell products online. This could be due to the fact that some companies are selling services, not products. However, those that do sell physical goods may soon turn to the web to boost sales.
As reported by the US Department of Commerce, online sales in the United States totalled $119 billion in the fourth quarter of 2017 and accounted for 9.1% of all retail sales. By comparison, online sales accounted for only about 3.5% of retail sales just 10 years ago.
These numbers could explain why the majority of small business owners who sell products online say that online sales are very important for their business. While 32% say that Amazon and other online retailers have had a negative impact on their business’s sales, the remaining 68% report a positive experience.
One Response
Its the massive assistance and purposeful ignorance to foreign tax evasion by said companies that is trumps concern. Which they spin into a competitive advantage and use to drive consumers to there sites. At great cost to domestic sellers and 3rd parties.