Report shows that a large percentage of small companies are not moving with the digital times.
Despite living in the age where nearly everything we need can be found on the internet, a majority of small businesses in Britain don’t have their own website.
According to a recent report commissioned by domain hosts GoDaddy, 60 per cent of businesses with five employees or less simply aren’t moving forward in this digital era.
Of the 500 small businesses polled, 54 per cent of those without a website say that their reasons for not having one are because they feel it is unwarranted, due to an estimated lack of growth for their business. However, it is likely that having no internet presence is likely to be a self-fulfilling prophecy.
On the flipside, 60 per cent of smaller companies who have their own site report that they expect their revenues to grow immensely in the next three to five years.
With so many shoppers moving to online stores for clothing and groceries for example, it would be in everyone’s best interest for any business without a site, to begin the process as soon as possible.
Any business being online will ultimately affect their growth, the communication, and even their inventory. ‘There are over five million small businesses in the UK, with a further 500,000 new businesses set to be added this year alone.
‘While we take it for granted in this digital age that everyone is online, the reality is many of the smallest businesses are still to make the leap [and this] could have a big impact on small business growth and transformation in the UK, as well as economic growth as a whole.’
With this in mind, starting a site in the first place is the most important step for SMEs, as a literal wealth of opportunities await those around Black Friday, Christmas, and beyond. While it could be that age is a major factor, as younger business owners are likely to be more optimistic and experienced when it comes to selling online. Yet, as the research shows, business is a merciless race, and if you can’t keep up with the competition then you’ll be left behind.