The European Commission’s latest Digital Agenda Scoreboard has revealed that the number of UK citizens who shop online now stands at 71 per cent – an increase of four per cent since 2010.
However, only 14.9 per cent of British businesses (and 14.3 per cent of small and medium-sized enterprises) sell online. The EU target is 33 per cent.
Interestingly, the figures also reveal that only one in ten consumers across the EU have bought something from a website in another EU member state. The EU target is 20 per cent. To address this shortfall, the European Commission has proposed an action plan to make it easier for consumers to buy across EU borders and for doubling the volume of e-commerce in the EU by 2015.
The UK findings are disappointing and retailers should be looking at exploiting the internet to boost their revenues. There is plenty of recent research which highlights the potential financial benefits if retailers embrace social commerce and mobile commerce.