eBay published a new Global Marketplace Index that finds selling on marketplaces enables small businesses to reinvest in their local communities.
Interim CEO Scott Schenkel said in Tuesday’s announcement, “Marketplaces like eBay have proven that ecommerce plays an important role in empowering entrepreneurs. Given the critical role that small businesses play in fostering economic development and a more inclusive global society, it’s essential that we continue to strengthen these businesses and their local communities, as we’ve done for nearly 25 years.”
eBay commissioned Euromonitor International to conduct the study, which is available on the eBayInc.com corporate website.
eBay highlighted some of the results focused on the US:
Online marketplaces have had a positive impact on local communities in the United States:
- Nearly half (44%) of U.S. small business owners say that selling through online marketplaces allows them to keep their physical stores open.
- When store owners were asked how the additional income from selling through marketplaces has helped them, 23% responded that they were able to reinvest in their communities.
- 33% percent of U.S. small businesses, with annual marketplace sales greater than $200K, use this income to reinvest in their community.
Online marketplaces provide U.S. small business owners with financial security:
- Of U.S. small business owners surveyed, 77% agree the income from building an online business gives them financial security and an even higher percentage of physical store owners (89%) agree.
- About half (48%) of U.S. small business owners have been able to get out of debt using the money they make from marketplaces.
- 37% of U.S. small business owners say that the income from selling through online marketplaces has helped them rebuild their savings after an economic downturn, 31% have been able to save for a child’s education, and 30% say they’ve used the money to pay their mortgage.
Euromonitor conducted 75 in-depth interviews with small business marketplace sellers and identified the following five universal “dimensions of empowerment”: Lifestyle Impact, Financial Security, Financial Growth, Marketplace Tools and Business Environment.
It then surveyed 2,500 small online business owners from five countries: The US, UK, Germany, Australia, and South Korea.
It found that each country scored above 80 in the GMI, “demonstrating that small businesses are greatly empowered by selling through marketplaces.”
It concluded that 85% of small business owners around the world feel their online business gives them freedom or flexibility and over 77% say their online business gives them confidence or control.
You can find the announcement on this page of the eBayInc.com corporate website.
More smoke and mirrors from eBay attempting to sucker more sellers into “selling” there. Notice that the so-called “results” have nothing to do with eBay itself. It’s about marketplaces in general. eBay’s role in all this is getting smaller and smaller. What eBay is really saying is this: We desperately need more sellers and more listings so we can make money off you whether you sell anything or not.