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To tackle changing consumer expectations during lockdown, many retail SMEs are ramping up their investment into digital technologies.
This is according to a new report from Direct Line business insurance, which claims more than half (52%) either invested in new tech services, or increased their online presence in these past year and a half.
Almost all retail SMEs (85%) also said they’d be keeping the digital services and products they introduced during the pandemic. Half (52%) said increasing their digital footprint in the next six months was already in the pipeline, with a sizeable number promising to introduce “bold new virtual offerings”.
[ul]
[li]Here’s our list of the best SMB software right now [/li][li]We’ve built a list of the best e-commerce platforms on the market [/li][li]Check out our list of the best e-commerce hosting providers available[/li][/ul]
The report claims that retail SMEs now see technology as “fundamental” to business success. Some used it to reach new customers, while others wanted to meet rising customer expectations.
[HEADING=1]Online delivery and digital marketing[/HEADING]
Of all the different things they’re tackling, retail SMEs are mostly focused on online ordering systems and deliveries (27%), and digital marketing (16%). These changes weren’t cheap, either. The average SME spent between $1,300 and $6,900 to launch a new digital service or product.
The findings also echo a recent Salesforce report, which polled 2,500 SMB owners and leaders across the Americas, Europe, and Asia Pacific, discovering that going digital helped 71% of SMBs survive the pandemic.
Salesforce’s report says most successful SMBs worked on gaining customer trust and enabling their employees to work remotely. Almost three-quarters (72%) have an e-commerce presence, with a third (35%) adding it within the past year.
At the same time, 95% of growing SMBs made sure their company data, including customer information, was safe from cyberattacks. Direct Line business insurance’s report speaks differently, though, saying 45% of decision-makers didn’t feel cybersecurity was a risk to their business.
As a result, the report claims, only 23% invested in cyber-insurance.
[ul]
[li]Here’s our rundown of the best credit card processing services out there [/li][/ul]
Continue reading…
This is according to a new report from Direct Line business insurance, which claims more than half (52%) either invested in new tech services, or increased their online presence in these past year and a half.
Almost all retail SMEs (85%) also said they’d be keeping the digital services and products they introduced during the pandemic. Half (52%) said increasing their digital footprint in the next six months was already in the pipeline, with a sizeable number promising to introduce “bold new virtual offerings”.
[ul]
[li]Here’s our list of the best SMB software right now [/li][li]We’ve built a list of the best e-commerce platforms on the market [/li][li]Check out our list of the best e-commerce hosting providers available[/li][/ul]
The report claims that retail SMEs now see technology as “fundamental” to business success. Some used it to reach new customers, while others wanted to meet rising customer expectations.
[HEADING=1]Online delivery and digital marketing[/HEADING]
Of all the different things they’re tackling, retail SMEs are mostly focused on online ordering systems and deliveries (27%), and digital marketing (16%). These changes weren’t cheap, either. The average SME spent between $1,300 and $6,900 to launch a new digital service or product.
The findings also echo a recent Salesforce report, which polled 2,500 SMB owners and leaders across the Americas, Europe, and Asia Pacific, discovering that going digital helped 71% of SMBs survive the pandemic.
Salesforce’s report says most successful SMBs worked on gaining customer trust and enabling their employees to work remotely. Almost three-quarters (72%) have an e-commerce presence, with a third (35%) adding it within the past year.
At the same time, 95% of growing SMBs made sure their company data, including customer information, was safe from cyberattacks. Direct Line business insurance’s report speaks differently, though, saying 45% of decision-makers didn’t feel cybersecurity was a risk to their business.
As a result, the report claims, only 23% invested in cyber-insurance.
[ul]
[li]Here’s our rundown of the best credit card processing services out there [/li][/ul]
Continue reading…