Amazon says German SMEs sold over €20bn in 2025, with €5.9bn from exports

Amazon says German small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) sold more than €20 billion on Amazon in 2025, and €5.9 billion of that was export revenue^1,2. Amazon names France, Austria, Italy, the United States and Spain as the top five export markets².

How much of the €20 billion is cross-border?

Amazon's KMU Report 2026, published in German, gives the 2025 totals: more than €20 billion in sales and more than 750 million products sold². Of the €20 billion, €5.9 billion came from exports, which Amazon describes as "almost a third"². Ecommerce News reports the same €5.9 billion as cross-border sales and notes that Amazon did not give an exact total¹.

Amazon has disclosed the combined sales revenue of German SMEs on its platform for the first time¹.

Which markets drive it? The public figures do not say

Ecommerce News repeats Amazon's list of top five export markets^1,2. The sources reviewed give no euro figure for any of these markets, so the list does not show which market earns the most export revenue. The list names markets; it does not rank them by revenue.

A German seller therefore cannot use this report to judge performance in France, Austria or any other market. Use your own per-market sales data.

Growth is slowing from a small base

Ecommerce News reports cross-border sales of €2.75 billion in 2019 and €5.7 billion in 2024, according to the previous SME report¹. It also says growth "has slowed in recent years, falling to just a few percent in 2025"¹.

An Ecommerce News article from 1 August 2024 reported €5.5 billion in cross-border sales for 2023, with 10% growth⁴. Our reading, which combines reports from different years, is that growth has fallen from 10% in 2023 to a few percent since¹.

What the figures do not measure

The €20 billion and €5.9 billion are Amazon's own numbers, reported by Ecommerce News "according to the company"¹. Both come from Amazon, so they are not an independent survey of German sellers.

The seller count is inconsistent. Amazon says more than 40,000 German SMEs sell on Amazon². Ecommerce News says the company reported about 47,000 last year and that the number "appears to have fallen back" to its level of five years ago¹. A 2024 article put the 2023 figure at around 47,500⁴.

Amazon also says more than 80% of these SMEs sell to customers around the world². That measures reach, not profit. None of the sources gives margins, profit by market or the share of sellers who export.

Five tests before expanding from Germany

The checklist below is our own. It draws on points in Amazon's report and seller pages, but it is not an Amazon checklist. Answer each question with your own data before committing stock or staff time to a new market.

Step 1: margin. Check your per-marketplace margin after fees, VAT, returns and cross-border fulfilment cost. Revenue alone does not show whether a market pays.

Step 2: VAT. Amazon says a company based in the EU that sells across Europe must work through up to 27 different VAT regimes². Confirm your registration status in each target country with a tax adviser before listing there.

Step 3: Pan-European FBA. Pan-European FBA (Fulfilment by Amazon, where Amazon stores and ships your stock across EU countries) lets you send inventory to one of five countries: France, Germany, Italy, Spain or Poland. Amazon then distributes units to the other four where you have FBA storage enabled, and products are Prime eligible in each country⁶. Amazon's German page says Pan-European FBA saves 53% on shipping fees⁵. The US page that describes the programme is written for US sellers, so check the German pages for rules that apply to German accounts. Check any listing rules for each store you plan to use; the sources reviewed do not set them out.

Step 4: start small. Start with one or two products in a single market. France and Austria are both on Amazon's top five list, but no source shows which is more profitable for you.

Step 5: EPR and local compliance. Extended producer responsibility (EPR) rules cover packaging, electrical and electronic equipment, and batteries². In 2026, new EPR rules in Belgium, Italy and Germany for single-use plastics added five registration numbers and up to €25,000 in fees for that seller². Amazon says this kind of regulation ties up resources for sellers². Your own obligations depend on your products, so check the official requirements in each country before you list.

Our analysis: what the scenarios could show

Our interpretation, not a finding in the sources: the figures point to a slow-growing export base rather than a fast-growing one. Whether an export problem is caused by returns, cost or reach cannot be settled from these sources. A seller's own per-market data should answer that.

Scenario A. If your margin is lower abroad after logistics and tax, stay in Germany and fix fulfilment first.

Scenario B. If one product sells steadily in a neighbouring market and returns are manageable there, a small Pan-EU test is worth running.

Scenario C. If you sell only in Germany and your margins are healthy, the aggregate figure gives no reason to expand. Not exporting is not, by itself, a sign of falling behind.

What to watch next

• Per-country data. The sources reviewed give no euro split by market². Watch whether future SME reports add one.
• Seller numbers. The 40,000 and 47,000 figures conflict^1,2. The next report should show which is right.
• Investment. Amazon says it plans more than €16 billion of new investment in Germany for 2027³. The sources do not say what this means for FBA fees.
• Pan-EU store list. Amazon's US page lists five hub countries⁶. Check the current list in your own Seller Central before planning. We checked these pages on 22 October 2026.
• EPR and VAT rules. Check the official pages in each target country before you list.