Have you seen this statistic making the rounds lately, encouraging shopping with independent retailers rather than Amazon?
We thought we’d fact-check the statistic because it seemed pretty incredible. And here is our own calculation: if every one of the UK’s 69.5 million citizens bought one £25 item from an independent retailer rather than Amazon, £1.7 billion would go directly in to the UK economy, and be further reinvested in local communities around the country.
Of course this is an overly simplistic assessment but it is pretty powerful. It inspired us to dig a little deeper in to how Amazon impacts the retail environment in the UK. According to Money.co.uk, there were 324,995 retail businesses in 2024 of which 99% of them were classified as SMEs (Small or Medium Sized Enterprises). The encompasses everything from home-based individual sellers, to small neighbourhood shops, to smaller high street chains.
Amazon itself says around 100,000 UK-based SMEs sell on its UK site and about half of all physical product sales on its site are from independent selling partners, most of whom are SMEs.
In some important ways, Amazon is good for small retailers because it gives them a platform for marketing, selling and distributing their goods without having to rent retail or warehouse space, or even build an e-commerce website. it's possible to run an Amazon-based business from a spare room, as a fulfilment service is offered that handles all order distributions and returns. All you have to do is buy goods, deliver them to the fulfilment service and upload the product descriptions on Amazon's website.
In exchange, Amazon charges commissions, selling fees, and fulfilment and storage charges. For retailers who don't want to take on the cost structure associated with a shopfront, Amazon is an affordable alternative.
For traditional physical retailers, however, competing with online-only retailers often means a race to the bottom in terms of profit margins. Lease costs, business rates, shop staff for seven days a week, website development and marketing expenses, to name just a few of the costs associated with running a full-service (physical and online) shop, make competing with e-commerce businesses on Amazon almost impossible. And that’s not even considering the cost of free next day delivery.
Fortunately shoppers have begun to realise that there is value in the customer service that comes with shopping in a local shop, or from an independent retailer’s website. There is always a person to speak when there are issues with an order or a special request.
Shoppers are also valuing the bespoke element that independent retailers bring to shopping. Whether it’s an original design, a limited run, or a made-to-order feature, these unique products stand well apart from the commoditised shopping you find on Amazon.
So as the holiday shopping season ramps up over the next few weeks, please keep the independent retailers in your sights rather than defaulting to an Amazon search. Your local hardware shop, or that cool indie book shop that just opened nearby, the UK sportswear brand you’ve heard everyone talking about, or even your favourite monogramming shop will be very happy to help you find the perfect gifts.
The money you spend with independent retailers will be invested in the local community via the wages they pay to their staff, the goods they source from manufacturers and craftspeople, business rates which fund local initiatives, and so much more.