New research from ecommerce software developer Actinic points to a sharp rise in internet adoption and ecommerce deployment among small British retailers.
According to Actinic?s fifth annual Ecommerce Report, the proportion of small to medium businesses in the UK retail sector that own web sites has risen sharply from 7% in 2004, and may be as high as 25%. In addition, the percentage offering an online ordering and payment facility has also increased. The figure stood at 3% in
2004 and is at 8% in 2005. However, it still remains low overall and lags behind the deployment of new business web sites. There is a trend to using server-based/ASP ecommerce solutions with a growth over 2004 of 22 percentage points to 29%.
The survey also revealed rises in the number of companies planning to adopt ecommerce in the future (13%), and in the number of online traders planning further development to their sites (48%). The findings confirm predictions by Gartner, of a second wave of internet adoption driven by the spread of broadband. Profitability among retail sites remains high at 70% (72% in 2004).
Chris Barling, CEO of Actinic, comments, ?2005 may prove to be the year when ecommerce finally comes of age. But there is still a long way to go before the percentage of businesses trading online comes anywhere near the percentage of consumers who are shopping online. Many small businesses are still missing out on a huge opportunity ? and at a time when traditional retail is under increasing pressure.?
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