TORONTO —June 8, 2023 – Today, Amazon Business released findings from its 2023 Small Business Survey, which surveyed 500 Canadian small-business decision-makers about their purchasing patterns and the overall landscape for Canadian small businesses. The survey found that Canadian SMB leaders are passionate about growing their businesses and are remarkably resilient in the face of a challenging economic climate.

According to the poll of small business decision-makers across Canada, the top three challenges small-business decision-makers say are keeping them up at night are high inflation (60%), economic recession (37%), and poor sales (28%). With these challenges, finding ways to save money is the most important purchasing priority for 67% of Canadian SMB buyers for 2023, while 59% are focused on staying within budget. During good times and bad, smart business buying is always the answer.

Small businesses are increasingly looking for ways to drive future growth, and streamlining business purchases could be a way to do so. While product prices will continue to be a key factor in reducing costs and driving growth. The survey showed small-business leaders also are looking at how easily they can find the products they need, alongside how convenient the purchasing process is to improve efficiency.

  • 92% say the ability to find items that are within their price range is a key factor in growing their businesses long term.
  • 86% say the ability to easily find items they need is a key factor in growing their businesses long term.
  • 88% say the ability to easily purchase items they need is a key factor in growing their businesses long term.

“Our small-business customers face unique challenges and are operating with more limited resources—every dollar and minute they save helps them focus their energy on growing their businesses," said Todd Heimes, director of Amazon Business Worldwide. "With Amazon Business, small businesses get the selection and convenience of Amazon, alongside powerful tools that help them make buying decisions that drive towards their business goals, automate the procurement process, and save money with business pricing."

Survey methodology
Amazon Business asked 500 small-business decision-makers in Canada about their purchasing patterns, the challenges and opportunities impacting their purchasing processes, and the broader landscape for small businesses. All respondents were 18 years or older and reported working at a business making $25 million or less in annual revenue, being involved in their company’s supply purchasing efforts, and that they are currently employed full-time (59%), part-time (8%), or self-employed (33%).

The poll was produced in partnership between Amazon Business and Walker Sands, with data collection conducted via online market research vendor, Rep Data, Inc., between March 20 and April 4, 2023.

About Amazon Business
Amazon Business helps millions of customers worldwide—from small businesses, schools, hospitals, non-profit organizations, and government agencies, to large enterprises with global operations—reshape their procurement with cost and time savings, greater productivity, and insightful purchasing analytics. Procurement and business leaders enjoy convenient shipping options on hundreds of millions of supplies across categories like office, IT, janitorial, food service, and professional medical supplies. Customers also have access to a variety of business-tailored features and benefits, including a curated site experience, Business Prime, business-only pricing and selection, single or multi user business accounts, approvals workflow, purchasing system integrations, payment solutions, VAT invoicing tools, dedicated customer support, and more. Amazon Business is currently available in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and India. For more information, visit www.business.amazon.ca.

Contact:
amazon-pr@amazon.com