Amazon.com Inc. said more than one million small businesses in the U.S. sell their wares on its online marketplace.
The retail giant released the Small Business Impact Report highlighting new details about the small and medium-sized businesses that have chosen to grow their business on Amazon. Small and medium-businesses are the backbone of Amazon's stores, providing customers with millions of unique products - from handmade artisanal products to electronics they invented with friends.
According to the report, more than a million U.S.-based small and medium-sized businesses are selling on Amazon, generating hundreds of thousands of jobs across the U.S. According to the report:
- Millions of small and medium-sized businesses from around the world are selling on Amazon and more than a million of them are based in the U.S.
Small and medium-sized businesses selling on Amazon come from all 50 states and more than 130 countries
- More than 20,000 small and medium-sized businesses worldwide on Amazon surpassed $1M in sales in 2017
- Amazon estimates that small and medium-sized businesses selling on Amazon have created more than 900,000 jobs worldwide
- In 2017, Amazon lent more than $1B to U.S-based small and medium-sized businesses through the Amazon Lending Program
- Half the items purchased on Amazon come from small and medium-sized businesses
In its release on Thursday, Amazon also listed the number of smaller merchants by state, saying California had the most with more than 175,000, followed by New York with more than 81,000, and Florida with more than 75,000.
The disclosure comes as the retail giant and its chief executive, Jeff Bezos, have drawn increased scrutiny in recent weeks, including tweets by President Donald Trump criticizing Amazon for its impact on traditional retailers and tax issues.