Ecommerce giant, Amazon, has revealed the impact of its SME Accelerator programme to support smaller online businesses in the UK. The firm is also this week hosting a virtual conference, inviting small businesses across the country to learn how they can boost their online sales.
The online retail behemoth has published its latest SME Impact Report, revealing that small businesses using its platform to sell goods online have created around 250,000 new jobs across the UK since its launch. The report also showed that there are now 85,000 UK SMEs using its Marketplace to get their products in front of consumers, 15,000 of which boast annual sales of over £100,000, and 700 exceeding £1 million sales for the first time in 2021.
The Amazon Small Business Accelerator is a free, online educational programme for anyone who wants to start a new online business or grow an existing one. Following the impact of the programme and the level of sales being achieved by SMEs on Amazon, the retail group is relaunching an upgraded version of its accelerator to further enhance support available for UK small businesses to take advantage of the growth of the ecommerce sector.
Online learning through the Accelerator consists of over 200 bitesize video lessons and covers topics to help SMEs launch and grow their ecommerce sales, including website building, selling online, social media, marketing, managing cashflow, selling on Amazon’s online store, and identifying growth opportunities. Further information on the scheme can be found on the Amazon Small Business Accelerator website.
On October 5th and 6th, Amazon is also hosting its annual Europe-wide Brand Conference to provide further content and networking opportunities for current and future Amazon sales partners. The programme of events includes over 900 minutes of deep-dive breakout sessions and live Q&A with senior Amazon leaders, as well as sessions providing guidance on building, protecting and connecting your brand.
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