Driving Small Business Success

Behind eBay’s billions of listings are hundreds of thousands of UK small businesses and entrepreneurs in every UK postcode who use our marketplace to grow their business and reach new overseas markets. 

eBay never competes against its own sellers.  We grow when they grow.  That is why we advocate for policies which will help them thrive and why we invest heavily in technology, infrastructure and dedicated support to help them win: 

  • We embed next generation AI-driven tools in the platform, speeding up item listing and optimisation, and allowing small operations to scale rapidly.
  • Through eBay International Shipping,we handle customs, international returns, and duties on behalf of the seller, seamlessly opening up access to buyers in 190 countries.
  • We offer a range of funding initiatives, direct grants and free access to AI tools and adoption support to support entrepreneurs at every stage of their business journey. 
  • To support businesses to scale and thrive we host hands-on educational events across the UK and fund grassroots, leader-led "seller meet-ups" to share real-world business expertise, and early survey research shows that the programme is having a real positive impact on the ground

Key Figures 

  • Over 200,000 small businesses sell through eBay
  • Three quarters of these businesses are based outside of London and the South East. 
  • On a per-capita basis, the top four regions for eBay small business activity are the North West, West Midlands, East Midlands, and Yorkshire and the Humber - regions that rank 5th, 8th, 9th, and 7th in per-capita GDP respectively.
  • Greater Manchester ranks as the number one region for eBay small business activity across all European markets.


Policy Recommendations 

To support small businesses to grow and thrive, we advocate for: 

  • An agile tax framework that streamlines automatic reporting for digital platforms and raises the tax-free Trading Allowance to £3,000, encouraging everyday entrepreneurs to test and scale ideas without immediate red tape.
  • A national digital support scheme that helps small businesses adopt modern software, equipping local entrepreneurs with the tools needed to close the productivity gap and compete globally.
  • Reform of the benefits system to encourage entrepreneurship as a path out of welfare and into work and protect entrepreneurs from fluctuating cash flows typical in early-stage micro-businesses.

Case study: eBay's AI Activate programme: Accelerating Small Business Growth Through Targeted AI Adoption 

Micro-businesses drive local economies, but they often lack the resources to invest in emerging technologies. To bridge this gap, eBay launched AI Activate in October 2025, providing 10,000 fully funded ChatGPT licences and targeted training to help small e-commerce sellers deploy AI to boost productivity and accelerate growth. 

Over seven months, the programme has delivered significant gains in productivity and capability, including:

  • Florence Nightingale Hospice Charity streamlined its online operations, driving a 50% increase in listing output. This efficiency converted donated goods into vital fundraising income, enabling expansion into a larger warehouse. 
  • Source Nest, a fragrance business generated over £200,000 in revenue in just seven months by using AI to streamline operations, capture market trends, and use predictive insights to anticipate consumer demand. 

The programme also supported PreLoved Tech, a technology recycling and recommerce business that has generated £3.5m in total revenue and is on track to double its previous annual total on its eBay store this year. 

Over the past 12 months, Matt used AI to build a "virtual team" that handles workloads previously requiring four to five employees. Instead of getting bogged down in routine admin, Matt leverages AI to analyze performance data, refine his live-selling strategy, and focus on high-impact decisions - treating the technology as a collaborative growth partner.

Crucially, these efficiency gains have unlocked human capital. During this same period of automation, the business has expanded its physical headcount by two.