Irish e-commerce tends to be more popular among consumers than retailers

How many Irish SMEs sell online: research presented. Source: shutterstock.com

According to Ecommerce News, in Ireland, only 69% of small and medium-sized enterprises have a website. And just 32% of these companies sell products or services online.

SMEs are losing their share of Ireland’s €12.3 billion e-commerce market, by not selling online. For example, 45% of Irish consumers want to buy products online or in-store on Black Friday and/or Cyber Monday. However, only 32% of Irish companies with an online presence take sales orders through their website.

The IE Domain Registry shows the digital behavior of 1,000 Irish small and medium-sized enterprises. In addition to that, 63% of Irish consumers think a business looks outdated if it doesn’t have a website. And more than half of consumers (53%) want their local high street shops to offer an e-commerce website.

The 6 in 10 consumers surveyed answered that online shopping is important for them. 53% of them even believe e-commerce will eventually replace traditional bricks-and-mortar shopping.

For now, 48% of consumers only visit physical retailers for every necessity, but buy other items, such as electronics and clothing, through online shops.

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