SBA loans for electronic shopping and mail-order houses

7,201 SBA 7(a) loans since 2010. What they were for, how big, how long, and how often they went wrong.

Loans made

7,201

2010 onward

Typical loan

$100k

median approved

Typical term

8 yr

Default rate

4.7%

all industries 2.1%

Against other industries

defaulted within 7 years

Electronic Shopping and Mail-Order Houses

4.7%

Full-Service Restaurants

3.2%

Offices of Lawyers

2.2%

All Other Specialty Trade Contract

3.4%

Offices of Dentists

1.7%

All SBA 7(a) loans

2.1%

Default rate is not a judgement on the industry. It tells you how a lender will price your risk, and how much cushion you should build in.

When borrowers got into trouble

share of failures by year

Year 1

Year 2

10%

Year 3

14%

Year 4

21%

Year 5

17%

Year 6+

36%

Trouble rarely arrives in year one. It arrives when the opening cash is gone — which is an argument for borrowing more working capital, not less.

What this means for your application

A typical loan here runs $100k over 8 years. If you are asking for far more than that, expect harder questions and a longer file. If far less, check which lenders will even take it — many won't go below $150,000.

Find lenders by minimum loan → Check the numbers work →

Source SBA 7(a) FOIA, NAICS 454 Released 2026-06-30 Loans 7,201

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