Electronic Shopping and Mail-Order Houses

Businesses and organizations in the Electronic Shopping and Mail-Order Houses industry (NAICS code 4541, part of the Retail Trade sector) received 22,769 PPP loans totaling $1.02B during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The average loan for this industry was $44,687 — below the national PPP average of approximately $67,000. This reflects the small business character of most participants in this industry, typically sole proprietors and micro-businesses with modest payroll obligations.

89.4% of loans in this industry were forgiven — totaling $924.8M. To qualify for forgiveness, borrowers had to demonstrate that they maintained headcount and compensation levels and used at least 60% of loan proceeds for payroll expenses.

Notable recipients in this industry include THE BRADFORD HAMMACHER GROUP, INC. of NILES, IL ($10,000,000); SPREETAIL, LLC of LINCOLN, NE ($9,151,690); and A PLACE FOR ROVER/ROVER of SEATTLE, WA ($8,123,540).

The loan amount distribution for this industry shows a more even spread across loan sizes, suggesting a mix of small and mid-sized businesses. Because borrower names are withheld for loans under $150,000, a substantial portion of recipients in this industry may not appear by name in this dataset.

As part of the broader Retail Trade sector — sporting goods, hobby, book, music, general merchandise, and nonstore retailers. — businesses in NAICS 4541 were particularly reliant on PPP assistance to bridge the gap between declining revenues and fixed overhead obligations during the shutdown period.