Amazon has a lot to shout about based on their recently released 2021 Small Business Empowerment Report that touts the company’s support of U.S. small businesses. The Report highlights the 1.8 million jobs created by their 500,000 plus Third-Party Sellers.
To support the success of small businesses that contribute to the U.S. economy and employment, Amazon provides their Sellers with tools and services to build their brands, as well as hosting their Amazon Accelerate conference that is being held for the second consecutive year on October 20th and 21st.
The event for small business owners, entrepreneurs and startups will feature Amazon CEO Andy Jassy and Worldwide Consumer CEO Dave Clark. Those attending will see new product and service announcements and Seller presentations, plus have access to more than 30 sessions covering topics that assist current and aspiring entrepreneurs.
“Over 20 years ago, we made the decision to open our store’s virtual shelves to Third-Party Sellers. At the time, big-box retailers had been pushing small businesses out of the retail market,” said Dave Clark, CEO of Amazon Worldwide Consumer. “But we made a bet that bringing selling partners into our store would not only be a win for customers who want vast product selection, low prices, and fast delivery, but it would also be a win for small businesses that want to reach more customers, increase their revenue and profits, and create good jobs. It proved to be a great bet.”
Amazon’s Report offers other very impressive numbers that reflect their role in the U.S. economy and the small business sector. Amazon Sellers who surpassed $1 million in sales grew by nearly 15% in the 12 months ending on August 31, 2021, while American Sellers sold over $3.8 billion products. Their Sellers’ average annual sales grew to approximately $200,000 versus $170,000 year to year.
Most noteworthy is the approximate $2.2 billion in international export sales by Sellers that jumped from $1.5 billion year to year. The Report goes on to offer U.S. Sellers by state concentration and year to year growth.
The top 10 states with the most sellers per capita:
- Delaware with more than 2,000 sellers
- Florida with more than 50,000 sellers
- Utah with more than 7,500 sellers
- California with more than 88,000 sellers
- Wyoming with more than 1,000 sellers
- New Jersey with more than 20,000 sellers
- Nevada with more than 6,500 sellers
- New York with more than 40,000 sellers
- Colorado with more than 10,000 sellers
- Washington with more than 13,000 sellers
The top 10 states with the most year-over-year sales growth for sellers:
- Nebraska with 60% growth
- South Dakota with 40% growth
- Delaware with 35% growth
- Iowa with 33% growth
- Kansas with 32% growth
- Washington with 29% growth
- West Virginia with 28% growth
- Arizona with 27% growth
- South Carolina with 27% growth
- Connecticut with 25% growth
In the Report’s announcement they spotlighted BlueZone Sports as a Third-Party Seller that was able to adapt to the pandemic by being a Third-Party Seller.
“When COVID hit, BlueZone was forced to temporarily close all of its physical stores and downsize from 75 employees to 12,” said Kyle Robertson, director of marketing for BlueZone Sports. “After going all-in on Amazon in April 2020, BlueZone now has more employees and more brick-and-mortar locations than we did pre-pandemic thanks to growth on Amazon.”
Amazon quantifies their direct support of small businesses and startups, having invested over $18 billion into their selling partners last year. Their investment entails helping Sellers quickly launch their businesses in Amazon’s store, as well as providing support that enables them to scale so they can reach more customers and build their brands.
With over 24,000 Amazon employee supporting their Seller base and 1.8 million in small business jobs created, Amazon offers a direct contribution to the small business sector of the U.S. economy with the Report reflecting their ongoing and long term commitment.
For more information about how Amazon assists small and medium-sized businesses and to review the full 2021 Amazon Small Business Empowerment Report, go to aboutamazon.com/supporting-small-business.
