SMEs could see higher sales by expanding online

BRITAIN’S SMALL and mediumsized businesses could see higher sales next year if they follow through with plans to expand online in 2018, a new report found.

The number of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) trading online is set to rise to 88 per cent over the next 12 months, compared to the 64 per cent that currently take advantage of ecommerce, a report by Capital Economics and commissioned by Amazon has found.

A growing proportion plan to offer online sales via their own company’s website next year, up from 50 per cent this year to 68 per cent by the end of 2018, while a growing number of SMEs plan to increase the use of their own mobile apps to boost trade, up from 13 per cent to 24 per cent.

Meanwhile, the number of firms looking to sell through third-party platforms is set to increase from 21 per cent to 27 per cent. Firms that embrace ecommerce expect faster revenue and jobs growth over 2018, with online retail adopters expecting a 1.9 per cent rise in sales compared to a 0.6 per cent rise among firms that do not trade online.

SMEs with e-commerce operations are forecast to see a 0.8 per cent rise in jobs growth, compared to 0.4 per cent from those without online sales.

Amazon’s UK country manager Doug Gurr said: “The contrast in performance between businesses who use e-commerce and those that don’t is significant, so it’s reassuring for the UK economy to see small businesses investing in digital. The impact digital tools and services have on a small business cannot be underestimated.”

However, Ofcom recently found that around 1.1 million of UK properties still cannot get decent broadband to meet their needs, with 230,000 SMEs hampered by slow internet connections.