Amazon 2021 UK SME Impact Report

The Amazon 2021 UK SME Impact Report has been published today giving an interesting overview into the health of their marketplace businesses.

Amazon 2021 UK SME Impact Report Stats and numbers

You can download the full 2021 Impact Report here, but we’ve pulled out some of the interesting metrics to measure your business by. Take the average, and you’ll get an idea of the impact your business is having, whether you are a minnow or a shark in the Amazon pond and if you’re likely to be dominating your competitors or struggling to keep up:

65,000 SMEs

More than 65,000 UK SMEs sell on Amazon, and around 65% of them sold their products to customers around the world.

14,000 exceed £100,000 sales

Over 14,000 UK SMEs selling on Amazon surpassed £100,000 in sales, and over 1,000 welcomed sales of £1 million or more for the first time.

1,000 new Amazon £1 million sellers

1,000 UK SMEs selling on Amazon reached £1 million in sales for the first time in 2020.

Average £300,000 sales

UK SMEs had an average of more than £300,000 in sales—up year on year from over £200,000. Taking £300k and 65k sellers, that represents £19.5 billion in sales by UK SMEs on Amazon

40% Women owned businesses

Around 40% of Amazon selling partners in the UK are women-owned businesses, according to a recent poll.

750 million products

UK SMEs sold more than 750 million products on Amazon, up from 550 million in same period the previous year—equivalent to more than 1,500 products a minute on average.

£3.5 billion export sales

UK SMEs selling on Amazon recorded more than £3.5 billion in export sales, up from £2.75 billion year on year.

Top 5 categories

The top five categories for UK sellers were Home, Health & Personal Care, Toys, Apparel, and Beauty.

FBA used by almost half of sellers

More than 30,000 UK SMEs used Fulfilment by Amazon, and their sales grew on average by 35%.

175,000 jobs

UK SMEs selling on Amazon have helped to create and support over 175,000 jobs across the UK and a further 25,000 jobs internationally.

SME Impact Report Geography

Many businesses are located outside of London – for example, North West England now has more than 8,500 SME selling partners, who together exceeded £450 million in export sales last year. Sellers in East and West Midlands exceeded £450 million in exports, while Yorkshire and the Humber achieved £150 million.

Between February 2020 and February 2021, more than 150 rural businesses generated sales of over £250,000 selling on Amazon; over 60 rural businesses exceeded £1 million in annual sales on Amazon alone, 17 of those are based in Scottish rural areas.

Amazon Selling Partners by Region

1. London – over 17,000
2. South East (England) – over 9,500
3. North West (England)- -over 8,500
4. East of England- -over 6,500
5. West Midlands (England)- -over 5,500
6. South West (England)- -over 5,000
7. East Midlands (England)- -over 5,000
8. Yorkshire and the Humber- -over 4,500
9. Scotland- -around 3,000
10. Wales- -around 2,000

“2020 was a challenging year for many small businesses, and we’ve continued to provide business owners, startups and entrepreneurs with the tools and opportunities they need to succeed. Our latest report shows even more small and medium-sized businesses growing on Amazon stores, with a thousand new British businesses reaching £1 million on Amazon stores in sales last year for the first time. These businesses come from the length and breadth of the UK, with marked increases in the number of new sellers from Swansea and Glasgow, together with SMEs in places like Durham, Doncaster and Milton Keynes increasing their export sales by more than 50% in the last year. We will continue to innovate for our selling partners, helping more businesses across the UK to reach and deliver a great experience for millions of customers around the world.”
– John Boumphrey, UK Country Manager, Amazon

“Exporting companies are more resilient, productive and pay higher wages than their peers. So it is great to see UK businesses joining Amazon’s marketplace and accessing new customers internationally. Amazon’s Small Business Accelerator programme, which helps thousands of UK entrepreneurs start or grow online businesses, will boost jobs across the UK and, for many, be the beginning of their exporting journey. The Department for International Trade is helping more small businesses start their exporting journey through a vast range of support measures, including the free trade agreements we are negotiating across the world.”
– Graham Stuart MP, Minister for Exports