On Wednesday, new research by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce—and, importantly, commissioned by Amazon—revealed exactly what Jeff Bezos’s hopes are for America’s Southern states. The study found that if rural small businesses adopt online retail as the way of commerce, then more than 360,000 jobs could be created in the next three years and annual revenues of each business could grow by almost a quarter.
If your business is located south of the Mason-Dixon Line, take heed. This newly published study, based on a survey of 5,300 businesses in rural America, indicates that simply implementing digital practices could grow total revenues by $84.5 billion each year. “The opportunity to successfully start and grow a rural small business in our country is a great example of how technology is positively transforming nearly every aspect of our lives,” said Tim Day, senior vice president of C_TEC, the Chamber’s Technology Engagement Center. This effectively means that any startup with access to the internet and data cloud can successfully sell their wares through Amazon’s infrastructure.
