Internet stats show importance of online for small businesses [update]
Posted by Jon Wilcox in Technology, Business trends, Sales on Thu, 01/09/2011 - 15:46
The Office of National Statistics (ONS) has published figures that reveal nearly half (45%) of all online activity in the UK is now made through a mobile device, and that over three-quarters (77%) of households now have internet access.
Mobile internet access has jumped dramatically in the space of 12 months among 16-24 year olds according to the ONS figures, from 44% in 2010 to 71%. Of the 77% of UK households with internet access, 93% enjoyed broadband connections.
The figures from the ONS come as research from ecommerce platform provider Actinic revealed continued strong sales for UK small business online retailers, despite the sector experiencing a slowdown in year-on-year growth.
According to the research, average quarterly growth in turnover and the number of processed orders both increased year-on-year by 7%. In contrast, growth in the same quarter in 2010 stood at 15%. Actinic suggested the latest results still compared favourably with high street retailers “where June gave only 1.5% growth”.
Average order value in the quarter stood at £72.08, compared with the marginally higher £72.16 in the second quarter of 2010.
Nick Kington, managing director at Actinic Online commented: “These figures are not a big surprise. Consumer spending is clearly being hit hard and online retailers are not immune to tough times. However, some web merchants are thriving, highlighting that a combination of good merchandising, marketing and customer service can bring success even in the current climate.”
Actinic’s research results emerged a week after online auction house eBay UK revealed over 150 small businesses using the site are on track to record turnover in excess of £1m.
A recent roundtable on eCommerce for small businesses, organised web hosting company UK Fast, revealed small businesses are risking their online success “by not analysing website data and optimising their sites accordingly”.
The event highlighted a number of tips for small businesses looking to improve their performance in the online space:
- Don't deviate from the norm in terms of functionality - consumers know how they like to shop online and expect to follow the same journey
- Focus on a simple and clean platform that gives users a quick and problem-free shopping experience with the option for an enriched experience if the user requests
- Invest in expert analysis of data
- Establish your delivery offer early on - it could dictate the design of an eCommerce platform
- Think about how to give users the 'touch and feel' experience online - through augmented reality and detailed descriptions.
Jonathan Bowers, communications director at UKFast spoke about the eCommerce businesses on their network. He said: "From what we can see the eCommerce websites that grow quickly are those that are obsessive about offering a great user experience and the majority of them found this out by directly gaining feedback and scrutinising the web data."
[Update]
A spokesman from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills said: "Information and Communication Technology (ICT) can make a significant contribution to businesses’ productivity and growth. Our analysis shows that sectors with the highest rate of ICT investment per employee between 2000 and 2007 also had the highest productivity levels.
"ICT also offers a route to expanding businesses' customer base - digital technology can be used for online marketing and sales through social media, increasing web exposure, enhancing supply chains and improving accounting and internal procedures. A recent study has found that continued adoption and exploitation of ICT has the capacity to generate an additional £35 billion of growth value added to the UK economy in the next 5-7 years."
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