According to research carried out by WorldPay at the E-commerce Expo in London, 59 per cent of SMEs are already offering online shopping services. A quarter of SMEs who have implemented e-commerce, stated that overseas transactions now make up 30-40 per cent of their income.

Of the SME managers polled, 84 per cent suggested the use of e-commerce had ‘significantly’ or ‘slightly’ increased revenue and profit. And 74 per cent of SMEs who aren’t currently online are intending to offer e-commerce transactions in the next six months.

Of these ‘offline’ SMEs, 78 per cent are motivated to implement e-commerce services in order to reach international markets.

Gabriel Hopkins, head of e-commerce products at WorldPay, says: “These results show that there is a rapidly growing realisation amongst SMEs that e-commerce can provide a very significant additional revenue source. It is interesting to note the trend towards international sales and that, despite the challenges this brings, SMEs are really reaping the rewards of cross-border selling.”

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