Amazon and Enterprise Nation have announced the launch of Clicks and Mortar – a new programme to help small businesses grow, both in-store and online.

The programme will enable more than 100 small online businesses to sell on the High Street for the first time in 10 Clicks and Mortar shops across the UK. The year-long pilot programme will explore a new model to help up-and-coming online brands grow their physical presence. Independent research on the success of the pilot will be submitted to the government, following the call for new ideas to develop the Future High Streets strategy.

It will also help small businesses upskill their workforce through a new £1 million fund to train over 150 full-time apprentices to help small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) increase their productivity and boost their online sales; and provide free digital training at Amazon Academy events across the UK to help small businesses boost export sales.

Doug Gurr, UK country manager at Amazon, commented: “From giving up-and-coming online British brands the chance to experience physical retail, to funding the training of full-time apprenticeships and helping to increase SME exports, Amazon is committed to supporting the growth of small businesses - helping them boost the economy and create jobs across the UK.”

In 2000, three per cent of physical gross merchandise sales on Amazon came from third-party businesses, but by 2018 this increased to 58 per cent, following years of investment in technology, infrastructure and selling tools.

Amazon, Enterprise Nation, Direct Line for Business and Square are partnering to open 10 Clicks and Mortar pop-up shops in cities across the UK, with the first shop opening on St Mary's Gate in central Manchester today. This will be followed by the opening of pop-up shops in Wales, Scotland, the Midlands, Yorkshire and across the South East.

The Apprenticeship Fund meanwhile, will between 15-18 months, with apprentices working for small businesses receiving a mix of in-work, online and classroom training. Amazon will also provide specialist training on how to build a successful e-commerce business, how participating SMEs can market and advertise their products to customers and how to sell their products to a global customer base.

The fund is exclusively open to any brand-owning SME registered in England that currently sells on Amazon and has a turnover of less than £1 million.

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