Small and medium-sized businesses are encountering more and more problems when it comes to planning their business with the rise of e-commerce and Amazon, They found an ally that nearly 17,000 SMEs joined that they manage to export to other countries such as France, Germany, Italy, the United States and the United Kingdom.
Last year, 2,000 new small and medium-sized businesses chose the US e-commerce app to grow their business, achieving 13% growth compared to 2022, where there were 15,000 SMEs marketing via the web. But this upward trend has been repeated for five years (2019), when a total of 9,000 Spanish SMEs were present on Amazon.
In 2023, these companies managed to reach a new record in terms of exports, exceeding one billion euros.and exceeding by more than 50 million (10% increase) the figure reached the previous year, corresponding to the year 2022, where 950 million were obtained in exports. And the fact is that in 2023, of the 17,000 SMEs present on the Web, 75% sell their products in at least one country outside of Spain, while more than 40% do it worldwide, exceeding thus the 165 million sales outside the European Union. Among the countries that buy the most from Spanish small and medium-sized businesses are France, Germany, Italy, the United States and the United Kingdom, respectively, the home, health and personal care sectors, toys, beauty and office supplies being the most important. most requested by customers residing outside Spanish borders.
Concerning unit sales, Spanish small and medium-sized businesses sold more than 105 million products via the Amazon site in 2023, or 5% more than the previous year, when almost 100 million were obtained. This growth allowed the website to get 200 products sold per minute. Among them, more than 550 managed to invoice more than one million euros in turnover, and 30 of them exceeded one million euros for the first time. Although data related to invoicing broke records, those related to employment obtained encouraging figures for jobs related to e-commerce, since SMEs that sell on Amazon managed to employ more than 45,000 people, which represents a growth of approximately 28% from the 35,000 there were in 2022.
Most beneficiary autonomous communities
E-commerce platforms help SMEs promote their businesses beyond their provinces and Amazon is among those that have helped businesses located in rural areas and with an unfavorable environment to expand their businesses, thus helping to promote the economic development of these autonomous communities. , such as Castilla-La Mancha, Galicia or Castilla y León, among others.
Even though the e-commerce platform favors local commerce, The most favored regions remain the most developed, such as Cataloniain which more than 3,500 SMEs operate and have obtained an export figure of 300 million euros, the Community of Madrid, with more than 3,200 active SMEs and with exports of 185 million, or the Valencian Community, in which they market to over 2,700 SMEs and achieved figures of 190 million exports.
Outside the podium is Andalusiawith more than 2,400 SMEs and 135 million euros in export turnover. On the opposite side are Aragon, the Basque Country and the Murcia region, which have the fewest SMEs operating on Amazon, with almost 400, and with high figures due to exports of 20 million per part of Aragon, 25 from Asturias and 30 million which correspond to the Region of Murcia.
To strengthen its commitment to small and medium-sized Spanish businesses, Amazon has developed its “Despega” program, with the aim of training a total of 50,000 SMEs in digitalization before 2025. Already in 2023, the American e-commerce site has trained 45,000 Spanish SMEs and entrepreneurs in digital skills. More than 15 institutions, regional governments and public and private organizations have joined this initiative and, since last year, the company has also collaborated in organizing training sessions in collaboration with the Spanish Chamber of Commerce so that local SMEs can promote their sales via the Internet.
Again, It is essential that SMEs have commercial alternatives within their sectors and which can support the growth of e-commerce. More and more people are shopping online and their absence can lead to the demise of small businesses.
