Majority of businesses still don’t sell online, report finds

69% of UK small businesses still don’t sell online and are ignoring growing demand for e-commerce, the government’s Small Business Survey 2015 has reported.

While some 76% of small and medium-sized businesses in the UK now own a website and 83% report to being ‘digitally engaged’ – owning a website, using a third party website such as Amazon or eBay, and having a social media profile – the majority of small firms are failing to capitalise on a potential revenue stream by making their site transactional.

Just 15% of small and medium enterprises have a website where goods and orders can be ordered directly, while 31% engage in “some form of e-commerce” – be it selling on a third party site, selling goods on social media, or enabling bookings to be made on their site.

Medium-sized businesses were found to be far more likely have adopted e-commerce (40%), while micro-businesses were least likely to have an e-commerce strategy in place (30%).