An Investigation into ecommerce Utilisation by SMEs within East Lothian
Citation
(2015) An Investigation into ecommerce Utilisation by SMEs within East Lothian, no. 105.
Abstract
Purpose
As public demand grows for eCommerce, the value of eCommerce sales within the
UK has continued to increase year on year. Despite this, UK based SMEs are not
taking full advantage of this opportunity for growth, with the number of SMEs
utilising full eCommerce trading declining since 2012.
The study aims to investigate eCommerce utilisation levels of SMEs within East
Lothian, Scotland, analysing the factors preventing full eCommerce trading. SMEs
future plans regarding eCommerce are also identified, as well as investigating if the
Government and local council are providing sufficient initiatives and support for
businesses. It is hoped that the study will enable the local council to identify the
types of support needed by SMEs in incorporating eCommerce and tailor this
support to the needs of the individual businesses within the community.
Research Methods
To achieve the aim and the objectives of the study, a mixed methods approach was
used to gather the necessary data. As no previous research of a similar nature had
been previously carried out within East Lothian, the gathering of initial quantitative
data was deemed appropriate. An online questionnaire consisting of 10 questions
was sent to 183 SMEs registered in the East Lothian Business Directory, yielding 69
responses. Further in-depth, qualitative data was then gathered from 6 follow-up
face-to-face, semi-structured interviews with SME owner-managers. The online
questionnaire and the interviews were then analysed and compared with previous
literature, drawing conclusions and future recommendations.
Key Results and Outcomes
The results reveal that SMEs within East Lothian utilise the early stages of
eCommerce such as social media and having a basic website higher than the UK
average by 10.6% and 22.7%. However, the later stages such as the
implementation of an e-Brochure and/or full eCommerce trading are below the UK
average by 7.1% and 4.1%. The biggest factors preventing SMEs within East
Lothian incorporating full eCommerce trading are due to a lack of resources such as
finance and time and/or it does not support the needs of the business - similar to
the rest of the UK.
Encouragingly, 63.8% of SMEs within East Lothian indicate that they plan to
increase their eCommerce usage in the future. Currently East Lothian Council offer
initiatives and support such as grants, interest free loans and time with consultants.
These are deemed to be sufficient and appreciated by SMEs within the area;
however, it is recommended that the council increasingly look to create awareness
of these types of support as 69.6% of SMEs are unaware of the support available.