Insight: study finds SME online retailers look to marketplaces to boost sales
A new study has found that almost six in ten UK SME online retailers sell their products through an online marketplace whilst 75% operate their own website.
However, the research commissioned by Royal Mail has revealed that 56% of these retailers are planning to sell through new or additional channels this year by either looking for space in another retailer’s physical store, listing on additional marketplaces or selling via exhibitions or trade fairs.
The study also found that some 47% of UK SME online retailers have a physical store as well as a presence online. For those that sell in a physical store, 80% said it was their own shop but 33% sell in another retailer’s store.
Meanwhile, 81% of the retailers polled who sell goods overseas said they targeted Europe, while a respective 42% and 29% sold to the USA and Canada. Asia and Australasia were also popular destinations to target.
A spokesperson from Royal Mail said: “Entrepreneurial UK SME online retailers are increasingly turning to online marketplaces to sell their products. The rise of online marketplaces is impacting the way consumers shop online and how retailers sell to their customers but the physical store still has a role to play. As the ecommerce sector becomes increasingly global, UK SME online retailers should look at opportunities to expand the international side of their business.”
