Daventry SMEs exported more than £2m of goods through Amazon last year

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Daventry exported more than £2 million of goods through Amazon in 2020, according to the online retail giant.

More than 100 SMEs in the town exported products last year and the overall value was up by 60 percent from 2019, according to the 2021 Amazon UK SME Impact Report.

Site leader at Amazon's fulfillment centre in Royal Oak Way, Vivek Khanka, said: “Daventry is home to many successful SMEs and entrepreneurs, and we are proud to support their growth through the Amazon seller and export programmes.

“It’s great to see local SMEs exporting their products to customers around the world and we’re excited to help these businesses continue to grow, create jobs and increase sales.”

Nationally, SMEs selling on Amazon have created 175,000 jobs and recorded more than £3.5 billion in export sales in 2020.

Despite coronavirus creating a number of challenges for such businesses, many of them have adapted and been able to get online for the first time and thrive.

More than 14,000 UK SMEs selling on Amazon surpassed £100,000 in sales, and over 1,000 reached £1 million in sales for the first time in 2020.

The top five categories from which customers purchased products sold by SMEs were home, health and personal care, toys, apparel and beauty.

John Boumphrey, from Amazon, added: “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 percent 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.”