Among European countries, Italy is not lagging behind. In 2025, Italian SMEs generated more than €4 billion in sales, approximately €10 million per day, with over 200 products sold every minute. And they are not just selling more: a new generation of AI-powered advertising tools is enabling them to reach audiences and channels that, until recently, were reserved for much larger brands.
From Naples to the world: the South of Italy surprise
The most remarkable finding from this year's data is the leadership of southern Italy. The South and the Islands accounted for more than 40% of total sales and shipped 43% of all products, over 50 million items.
Campania leads the way, surpassing €1 billion in sales with more than 3,000 active SMEs and over 25 million products shipped. It is followed by Northern region of Lombardia (over €700 million), Lazio (over €350 million), Puglia (over €250 million) and Sicilia (over €200 million). Three of the top five regions belong to the South, overturning many assumptions about the Italian entrepreneurial landscape.
Of the total sales generated, more than €1 billion came from international customers. The Made in Italy showcase, with over 5,500 businesses and more than 3 million products available in 11 countries, is a key enabler, together with programmes such as Accelera con Amazon and partnerships with ITA Agency and the Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy.
UNALOE, an artisanal jewellery brand founded in 2020 by Giovanni Ferrara, the sixth generation of a Campanian family of goldsmiths, is one of those stories. Through Amazon and the Made in Italy showcase, Giovanni has taken a century-old craft tradition to an international scale, with 80% of revenue now coming from customers in the United States, Australia, Canada, Japan and Europe.
“Amazon opened the doors to the world for us,” says Giovanni. “Today over 80% of our sales come from international customers, and receiving orders from Europe, the United States and Japan has made us realise that Italian design, when it's authentic, knows no borders. The advertising offer from Amazon Ads and the training programmes available through the online store gave us the skills and visibility to compete internationally — transforming our workshop into a window on the world.”
High impact campaigns: how AI is levelling the playing field for small brands
For SMEs, high-impact advertising — streaming TV, video campaigns, cross-border creative — have historically been out of reach due to cost, complexity and lack of specialised resources. AI-powered tools are changing that equation.
According to research commissioned by Amazon Ads and conducted by Opinium among 300 marketing decision-makers at Italian SMEs, 69% say AI-powered tools have enabled their business to access advertising audiences, channels or formats that felt out of reach just three years ago. More than half (55%) say AI has made streaming TV and other video advertising opportunities a realistic option for their business for the first time. The impact extends to cross-border advertising: 32% of Italian respondents who previously found international campaigns inaccessible now say AI has made them more manageable. Half (50%) report that AI-enabled advertising has supported business growth, 37% say it has improved brand perception, and 33% have launched new product categories as a result.
Fler World, a direct-to-consumer personal care brand co-founded by Allegra Violante, is a case in point. When the company launched its first product, a razor, it was competing directly with much larger, established brands. “When we launched our first product, the razor, we knew we were going to advertise against much larger brands. And I believe Amazon Ads gave us the possibility to differentiate ourselves in terms of branding, positioning and visuals that could help in this competition. One thing we can do today with our advertising that I didn't imagine we could do three years ago is definitely having an omni-channel strategy that goes from our Amazon ads to the TV media, to the out of home campaign, to our retailers: really putting all of it together and being very consistent across the different channels.”
Globally, the share of Amazon advertisers using AI-powered tools grew by 50% year over year. In Q1 2026, SMEs generated double the number of ad creatives compared to the year before.
Strategic judgement remains central as AI adoption grows
Despite growing adoption, the human element remains central. In 45% of Italian SMEs, the final decision on advertising still rests with the business owner; in 27%, with the marketing lead. Only 1% report fully automated decisions. AI accelerates execution, but strategic judgement stays firmly in the hands of the people who know their business best.
Looking ahead, 75% say AI will be important to their future competitiveness — with content generation (56%), strategic planning (45%) and competitor analysis (38%) as key areas of interest.
From the goldsmith workshops of Campania to streaming TV across Europe, Italian small businesses are writing a new chapter — one where record sales, global reach and creative confidence go hand in hand. The tools are more accessible, the markets more open, and the ambition unmistakable.
