On 26 May 2015, eBay published new research reports as part of the Commerce 3.0 portfolio. This time, the Public Policy Lab together with the team of economists at Sidley Austin LLP studied how technology creates economic opportunity for Small and Medium-sized Businesses (SMBs) in the UK, Germany, France, Spain and Italy as well as for Europe as a whole. 

The research findings reveal that almost 40% of European SMBs using the eBay Marketplace serve customers on four or more different continents, while a quarter of them focus on serving the EU market. A total of 211 different countries were reached by these small business exporters in 2014. Moreover, these businesses can be found in almost all of the EU's more than 270 regions, and in 40% of the regions all eBay SMBs engage in exporting. We have established a league table to illustrate just how dynamic the online small business scene is in regions also outside of capitals as well as the more populous and wealthy regions of the five EU countries we have focused on.

Additional key findings discussed in the reports include:

• A force for market integration - Trade costs are 80% lower in the online marketplace compared to the traditional one, and intra-EU cross-border trade by online SMBs grew four times that of traditional firms for the period 2010 to 2014.

• A more inclusive model – The share of newcomers is four times higher in the online marketplace compared to the traditional one and they are able to capture 14% of the market share in just one year, whereas newcomers only make up abut 3% of the traditional export market in Europe.

• Strengthened resilience – As many as 71% of eBay SMBs continue exporting after three years, to be contrasted with only 16% of traditional firms. 

These aspects are discussed in each report, providing country specific numbers and examples. In addition, each report puts forward policy recommendations for what should be done by policymakers and governments to support economic opportunity for Europe's small business traders. 

European Small Online Business Trade Summary 2015

UK Small Online Business Trade Summary 2015

Italian Small Online Business Trade Summary 2015

German Small Online Business Trade Summary 2015

French Small Online Business Trade Summary 2015

Spanish Small Online Business Trade Summary 2015