‘Amazon drives cross-border sales for German SMEs’

German small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are extensively utilizing Amazon as a sales channel, both domestically and internationally. Last year, 47,500 of these companies were active on the platform, with an average cross-border sales value of one hundred thousand euros.

This information comes from a report on the sales activities of German SMEs, disclosed by Amazon itself and referring to the year 2022. According to the company, which dominates ecommerce in Germany and significantly influences offline retail in the country, never before have so many SMEs been active on the platform. However, it is unclear how many German SME traders joined last year to reach the total of 47,500.

Cross-border sales

Amazon does not provide revenue or revenue growth data for the overall sales results of German SMEs. But the company states that a record number of 725 million products were traded via the platform by this group of sellers last year.

Additionally, Amazon reports that the cross-border revenues of the involved businesses increased by 10 percent, reaching 4.75 billion euros.

International sales from German SMEs increased 10%

This calculation indicates that the average international revenue of German SMEs on Amazon is 100,000 euros. Of course, international sales figures within the group of small and medium-sized entrepreneurs vary significantly. For example, 3,800 German SME sellers generated more than 1 million euros in revenue on Amazon only, while many other companies are smaller in scale.

Jobs and support

Amazon estimates that German SMEs have created no fewer than 160,000 jobs thanks to trade on the leading marketplace. The company offers German entrepreneurs sales support, courses, and podcasts to guide and facilitate their growth, including internationally. Earlier this year, Amazon launched the European Expansion Accelerator, allowing sellers to reach customers across Europe “after two clicks within three days”. By the end of 2022, three out of four German SMEs on Amazon also sold to customers outside the domestic market.

‘After two clicks, active throughout Europe within three days’

Xavier Flamand, VP Amazon Europe Seller Services, states: “Our goal is for SMEs to be confident and successful throughout Europe in the digital world. And the renewed export record in a challenging environment shows that we have made another good step forward on this path.”