E-commerce surpasses physical stores! 900,000 British companies have online revenue of nearly £300 billion

According to the latest report from digital payments company Shieldpay , there are currently nearly 900,000 UK businesses selling on the online market, achieving annual sales of approximately £282 billion .

The study noted that businesses or sellers with an online presence had stronger business performance, achieving an average annual sales growth of 9.4 % , ahead of the 7.4% growth of physical retailers without an online presence .

According to statistics, 48% of retailers in the UK had launched e-commerce platforms in 2019 , and this figure increased to 61% by 2022 .

As more and more British companies begin to change their sales models and channels, the growth space in the e-commerce field is increasing .

When asked about the disadvantages of using online markets, 27% of companies said that this market is a completely beneficial market and does not pose any growth barriers to revenue and business development.

A YouGov survey showed that 20% of sellers said that their stores’ online sales had increased significantly thanks to the epidemic.

Claire Van ze Zant, director of Shieldpay , said that e-commerce sales will gradually become the core of UK retail market sales in the future.

It is worth noting that in the UK, SMEs are less likely to develop e-commerce channels than large companies . According to ONS data, only 3% of micro businesses sold on online marketplaces in 2019 .

It can be seen that in the UK, small and medium-sized enterprises are more focused on offline retail, especially under this year's negative economic conditions. They believe that their current business capabilities and energy can only seek to maintain the previous revenue level of offline retail as much as possible, and they dare not easily open up new channels.

Meanwhile, data from ShipBob and CensusWide shows that shipping costs, which are currently soaring due to currency fluctuations, fuel surcharges and inflation, pose a particular risk to small brands in the UK.

According to the survey , 48% of UK brands selling consumer goods online said that rising shipping costs are the biggest obstacle to their business growth in the next 12 months .

The research found that the cost of delivering a shoebox-sized parcel to the US has risen by almost a third since May 2021, from £15.73 to £20.56.

As cost expenditures rise, corporate operating pressures increase dramatically. In order to pass on the pressure, some products announce price increases, but sales also decrease accordingly. This shows how much transportation costs squeeze brand profit margins.

In addition, the current social situation in the UK cannot be ignored. As inflation has reached a 40-year high and the country's central bank predicts that inflation will continue to rise to 13.3%, large-scale strikes are currently breaking out in all walks of life in the UK, and the operation of railways, postal services and other systems has almost come to a standstill. The situation is not optimistic.

Despite this , UK e-commerce companies still express confidence in the future market. 92% of UK e-commerce companies expect their revenue to grow in the next year, and 54% of companies expect revenue to grow by at least 15% . In addition, 51% plan to hire at least three new employees in the next 12 months.

It is reported that North America is the second largest export market for British brands. Currently , 25% of British brands are exported to North America, and 59% of brands are sold in various European markets . 23% of companies said that they will give priority to developing the North American market in the next 12 months .

Under the current market conditions and the stereotypes of Chinese brands in the international market, British brands have entered the North American market in a big way, which will make the market competition more intense for Chinese sellers. But at the same time, the British people are increasingly interested in cross-border online shopping, which is a favorable market for sellers to develop.

U.K.

E-commerce