New Report Shows Retail Choices and Competition Fuel American Small Business Success

WASHINGTON (March 5, 2025) — The Connected Commerce Council (3C) and Data Catalyst Institute (DCI) today released a new report, Super Selling: How Retail Choices and Competition Fuel American Small Sellers’ Success, revealing a dynamic retail ecosystem with robust competition at every level. The report, based on a survey of 1,500 U.S. small and medium-sized businesses selling goods through digital channels (“small online sellers”), found such businesses have a broad range of tools and options for marketing, selling, and fulfilling orders, and sellers are confident their businesses will grow in the next four years. 

“The retail ecosystem works well for small sellers because there are so many avenues to success,” said Kent Yoshimura, co-founder of Las Vegas-based Neuro Gum, which sells energy- and focus-enhancing gum and mints. “We’re able to pick and choose the platforms and services that work best for our products and company. Like so many small online sellers, we’ve found that leveraging multiple sales channels — social media, online marketplaces, and brick-and-mortar — yields the best results.”

The report found 70 percent of small online sellers use multiple sales methods, and 77 percent use a combination of digital (online stores and marketplaces) and traditional (brick-and-mortar and wholesale) methods. When it comes to selling online, 61 percent sell through online marketplaces, with an average of four marketplaces at once. While all sales methods are valuable, the majority (59%) of small online sellers say online stores and marketplaces yield higher profit margins than traditional retail methods.

“Today’s small businesses have an astonishing range of retail tools, platforms, and channels to choose from,” said Dr. Mark Drapeau, editor-in-chief of DCI. “This study’s findings reveal that small sellers are sophisticated entrepreneurs who strategically combine multiple marketing approaches, sales methods, and fulfillment solutions to maximize their success.”

Small online sellers also have choices when it comes to managing fulfillment tasks like product storage and inventory tracking; packing and shipping; returns; and customer service. The report found most businesses (83%) use a flexible combination of “do it yourself” and outsourced services, and 77 percent use fulfillment services offered by online stores and marketplaces. Almost all (90%) small online sellers say they have many options for fulfillment tools and services, with 77 percent using seven or more. 

“There is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ method of succeeding as a small seller,” said Rob Retzlaff, executive director of 3C. “The retail ecosystem offers a broad — and growing — array of choices, and small sellers are extremely confident about their futures – with 94% expressing confidence that their business will grow in the next four years.”