Amazon UK blackout could earn independent shops over £10 million in just one hour

In just one day, UK bookshops could be £244 million better off if Amazon had a blackout

• Between them, toys and game retailers could earn £8,597,348 in just one hour
• In the last year, one in three people bought home products from Amazon, generating £73,356,596,405 annual revenue
• If Amazon was down for a day, it could lose a staggering £2,769,462,736* in daily sales
• It takes a year for the UK SMEs to make £4,449,170 - a fifth of Amazon’s daily core product revenue

May 2022: Using Amazon UK’s 2021 net sales figures and survey data of UK consumer purchases over the last year, Real Business Rescue has uncovered how much money could be spent with small businesses if Amazon UK was down for 24 hours. You can view the full report here.

Almost nine in 10 (86%) people in the United Kingdom shop at Amazon. With the convenience and cost-savings that Amazon offers, it’s no wonder so many people use the giant to order items they expect to arrive in less than 24 hours. The pandemic only accelerated Amazon’s growth. While small businesses suffered, the online retail giant saw sales rise by 51% in 2020, earning the company £19.4bn year-on-year (YOY).

In a bid to get the high street thriving again, Real Business Rescue’s recent survey of workers revealed that 78% are planning to shop more independently to support local businesses, showing that now we’re living ‘normally’ again, the appetite is there to support smaller companies. With hope for independents in sight, exactly how much of Amazon’s revenue would they gain if the online retail giant suffered a 24-hour outage?

Bookshops would be thriving
If Amazon was down for a day, it could lose a staggering £2,769,462,736* in daily sales. In comparison, it takes a year for UK SMEs to make £4,449,170 - a fifth of Amazon’s daily core product revenue.

Amazon first started selling books online in 1998. As one of their core products, a blackout could cause them to lose over £244 million which instead could be spent across UK bookshops. In the last 12 months, over a third of shoppers (36%) purchased books from the online marketplace, equating to a total of £244,521,988 of Amazon UK’s daily revenue.

With 967 independent booksellers based in the UK, you can see just how far this revenue could go between each retailer. To put this into perspective, from book sales alone, Amazon earns £10,188,416 in one single hour.

It’s all fun and games for toy retailers who could also benefit from Amazon’s blackout, with £206,336,362 daily revenue available to be won. In just one hour, over 900 toy retailers could earn £8,597,348 between them. Retailers have been competing with Amazon UK since they started selling this type of stock in 2001, which hit £70bn of annual revenue from this product category in 2021.

Since selling home products in 2003, Amazon has become a convenient place for interior aficionados to simply click and buy items for their home, with products often arriving within 24 hours of purchase. One in three people bought home & kitchen products from Amazon UK in the past 12 months, earning the giant £73,356,596,405 annually. A blackout could redirect £210m to smaller businesses in a day.

Revenue independent businesses could gain if Amazon UK was down for 24 hours

Product £m small businesses could gain in a day £m earnings per hour

Books - £244.5 - £10.1
Toys & Games - £206.3 - £8.5
Home & Kitchen - £201 - £8.3
Beauty & Personal Care - £197 - £8.2
Clothing, Shoes & Jewellery - £181.2 - £7.5

Commenting on the research, Shaun Barton, National Online Business Operations Director at Real Business Rescue said:

“The convenience of Amazon can cause a moral quandary for shoppers who’ve had years of buying from them online knowing they can receive their items in less than 24 hours.

“If local businesses want to improve footfall and entice customers to shop in-store, they have to offer something different to the experience consumers can get online:

1. Create an attractive shop front. Let your customers know you’re ready for business. Keeping the front door open creates an inviting, approachable entrance to your store.
2. Keep the customer journey at the forefront. Think about your customer’s journey from start to finish as soon as they enter your shop. Their experience should be simple, efficient and enjoyable.
3. Create an end to end experience. Give customers a reason to come back. Provide excellent in-store experience and knowledge, which can build loyalty and trust with prospective buyers.
4. Contactless payments. Make it easier for your customers to pay, as contactless, cashless payment options are almost expected by consumers as the norm since COVID-19.
5. Ask for feedback. Create relationships with your customers and ask them for feedback. Why are they visiting your store, what led them to step in? Since Amazon’s model is based on convenience, speaking to customers will help you learn how you can make your store more convenient to them.”

Real Business Rescue’s latest report also uncovers the spending habits of UK professionals when working from home and in the office. One thousand UK residents participated in the report and found the following:

Office workers are prime target for retailers to generate revenue

• 92% of workers want to support the high street more
• 89% of workers view returning to the office as an opportunity to support the high street and local business
• Over three-quarters (78%) of workers are planning to shop more independently than before the pandemic to support small businesses
• 44% of people intend to “shop locally instead of travelling to shops in different areas”
• 25% of workers said they will also be encouraging their colleagues to shop locally as well
• Almost one in five (19%) plan on buying consumable items they can enjoy when working at home
• On average, survey respondents said they spend £19.97 a week in local shops
• This equates to £79.89 being spent monthly and £958.71 annually in local, high street shops just from one person.