The number of small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) offering full ecommerce facilities has grown considerably in recent years, according to new research.

Although the survey found that just 11 per cent of SMEs boast a full ecommerce presence, this was almost double the figure reported in recent years.

Additionally, 90 per cent of those with ecommerce sites reported it was profitable and 40 per cent said the cost of setting it up was less than expected.

Bruce Townsend, marketing manager for survey author Actinic, says high levels of profitability and low cost of deployment bucks the trend of many IT projects.

‘It is surprising that just 10 per cent still have an ecommerce site, but that is up more than 30 per cent on last year,’ he said. ‘There will always be some products that are not suitable for online sales and some businesses prefer face to face service.’

Townsend says many of the reasons for not adopting ecommerce relate to perception rather than reality, with concerns about the security of purchasing online, the cost of deploying a web site and the time involved.

‘While there were valid concerns about security and cost in the past, technology has overcome much of this,’ he said.

Federation of Small Businesses national IT chairman Peter Scargill says the take-up of ecommerce represents a significant rise.

‘A few years ago, only a small number of SMEs had broadband and this was a major reason for the slow adoption of ecommerce,’ he said. ‘But we are getting to a critical point where the ease of deploying online will lead to increased take-up.

‘The fact that 90 per cent reported that their web sites were profitable and a worthwhile venture will further drive take-up.’

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Further reading

Small business IT spending on the rise

Small firms slow to take trade online

SMEs must show peers the benefits