Radio-Canada
Six out of 10 SMEs surveyed that have an Internet presence are not making online sales and are consequently missing out on an important source of growth, according to a study published by the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC).
The BDC notes that e-commerce is expected to double in size between 2018 and 2021, to a global market of 6.6 billion Canadian dollars.
More than one-third of Canadian companies surveyed that have expanded online reported sales growth of more than 10% per year between 2016 and 2019, compared to one-fifth for other companies, the study finds.
However, the study reveals that these companies have had to manage several challenges when expanding their online operations, such as data protection and security (32%), a lack of knowledge of digital technologies (25%) and difficulties related to hiring and retaining qualified employees (24%).
The study reveals that over the past three years, companies that have expanded online spent an average of $37,458 on their website and $2910 on digital marketing activities.
The study also shows that larger companies tend to invest seven times more in optimizing their online presence than smaller companies.
Methodology: BDC conducted this online survey between February 12 and 22, 2019, with 1,485 business owners across Canada, based on an email invitation. These business owners all operate outside their local markets. No margin of error can be calculated on a non-probability survey like this.
Fuente: Radio Canada
