60% of SMBs report half or more of online sales come from Amazon, Jet & eBay [Survey]

According to a recent survey conducted by NetElixir, a majority of SMBs are seeing strong returns on Amazon, Jet and eBay.

Surveying 500 small to mid-sized US retailers that sell online, 60.2 percent attributed at least half of their online sales to the three online marketplaces.

Of that 60.2 percent, 26.6 percent said there was a 50-50 split between e-commerce sales coming from their own website versus sales coming from Amazon, Jet and eBay, 21.3 percent reported three-fourths of their e-commerce sales from the online marketplaces, and 12.3 percent attributed 100 percent of their sales to Amazon, Jet or eBay.

The survey took a quick dive into how online marketplaces are impacting SMB’s e-commerce efforts, with a focus on Amazon.

Fifty-two percent of the respondents said the “increased sales volume potential” was the biggest benefit of selling on Amazon, and 32.6 percent said “increased brand exposure.”

Forty-five percent said the biggest downside of being an Amazon seller was the lower margins, while 29 percent said “not owing the end customer” was the biggest downside for them.

Less than 30 percent of the SMBs surveyed were running paid ads on Amazon, and 40 percent of the companies who did run Amazon ad campaigns claimed they were not effective. (Twenty-three percent cited “lack of know-how” as the top reason for the ineffective Amazon ads.)

After this year’s Prime Day, Amazon’s annual day devoted to discounts for Prime members, the e-commerce giant reported it to be “another record-breaking success for small businesses and entrepreneurs,” with one SMB, Furbo Dog Camera, claiming their daily sales increased by over 500 times.

“Within the first six hours, Furbo Dog Camera shot up to the No.1 Best Seller in four categories,” says a rep from the Furbo Dog Camera company who was quoted in Amazon’s release announcing its Prime Day results.

Looking toward the future, NetElixir’s survey asked SMBs where they plan to invest the most in the next five years, and 25 percent said Amazon.

You can download NetElixir’s full report at: Amazon for Small Business: Friend or Foe?

About The Author

Amy Gesenhues

Amy Gesenhues is Third Door Media’s General Assignment Reporter, covering the latest news and updates for Marketing Land and Search Engine Land. From 2009 to 2012, she was an award-winning syndicated columnist for a number of daily newspapers from New York to Texas. With more than ten years of marketing management experience, she has contributed to a variety of traditional and online publications, including MarketingProfs.com, SoftwareCEO.com, and Sales and Marketing Management Magazine. Read more of Amy’s articles.