EU SMEs Reach Record Sales on Amazon, Highlighting the Growing Power of Cross-Border Commerce

European small and medium-sized businesses are scaling internationally at an unprecedented pace. According to newly released figures, EU-based SMEs selling on Amazon generated more than €40 billion in sales in 2025, marking a new milestone for marketplace-driven commerce. Cross-border exports reached €17 billion, of which €13.5 billion were from trade within the EU.

The numbers reflect more than just marketplace growth. They show how digital commerce infrastructure is reshaping the way European businesses expand across borders.

Cross-Border Commerce Becomes a Core Growth Strategy

For many SMEs, international expansion was once limited by logistics complexity, operational costs, and fragmented regulations. Today, marketplaces are reducing some of these barriers.

More than 100,000 EU-based SMEs now sell through Amazon, and around 85% of them export beyond their domestic markets.

This highlights a major shift in e-commerce. Cross-border trade is no longer a secondary opportunity reserved for larger enterprises. It is increasingly central to SME growth strategies.

The strongest growth remains within Europe itself. Intra-EU exports increased from €12 billion in 2024 to €13.5 billion in 2025.

This demonstrates how digital platforms continue to strengthen the practical value of the European Single Market.

Marketplaces Are Becoming Infrastructure

The role of marketplaces is also evolving. Platforms like Amazon are no longer just sales channels. They increasingly function as operational infrastructure for smaller businesses.

Fulfillment networks, warehousing, customer reach, and localized storefronts allow SMEs to operate internationally without building their own large-scale distribution systems.

Several companies highlighted in Amazon’s report illustrate this transformation. Italian manufacturer Ciocca, for example, expanded from primarily domestic B2B sales into 32 countries. Spanish grooming brand FETÉN now generates nearly half of its revenue from international markets after expanding across Europe through Amazon.

For smaller businesses, this changes the economics of expansion. Instead of building country-by-country operations, they can scale through shared digital ecosystems.

Growth Comes with Complexity

At the same time, the report also exposes a growing challenge: regulatory fragmentation.

While cross-border selling has become technically easier, operational complexity remains high. SMEs still face different VAT systems, recycling schemes, labeling requirements, and compliance rules across EU countries.

According to several businesses cited in the report, these requirements can create substantial operational costs, especially for smaller companies without dedicated compliance teams.

This issue connects directly to broader developments already discussed across Iceclog. European e-commerce is becoming increasingly digital, but regulation is simultaneously becoming more demanding.

As cross-border trade grows, businesses increasingly need systems that can support:

• multi-market compliance
• standardized product information
• scalable operational workflows

Without this foundation, expansion becomes harder to manage efficiently.

The Rising Importance of Structured Product Data

The continued growth of marketplace commerce also reinforces another major trend: the increasing importance of high-quality product data.

Selling across multiple countries requires consistent specifications, localized information, accurate categorization, and synchronized updates across channels.

As marketplaces become more automated and AI-driven, structured product content becomes even more critical. Product discoverability, recommendations, compliance processes, and operational automation all depend on reliable data inputs.

This aligns closely with the broader AI shift in e-commerce discussed in previous Iceclog coverage. Commerce ecosystems are becoming more system-driven, and scalable data management is increasingly becoming a competitive advantage.

A More Platform-Driven E-commerce Landscape

The latest figures show how strongly marketplaces now influence European digital commerce. For many SMEs, platforms are becoming the fastest route to international customers.

However, the data also suggests a broader transformation. E-commerce is evolving into a connected environment where logistics, compliance, AI systems, and marketplaces operate together as part of a larger ecosystem.

In this environment, growth depends not only on products or pricing, but also on operational readiness.

For SMEs, the opportunity remains significant. The challenge is building systems and data structures that can support expansion across increasingly complex digital markets.

The €40 billion milestone reflects how far European digital commerce has evolved. The next phase will likely depend on how efficiently businesses can scale in this more integrated, data-driven landscape.