UK SMEs profit from ecommerce

Three out of four business-based Web sites in the UK make a profit, according to research by ecommerce software supplier Actinic.

In its Ecommerce Report 2002, which surveyed 250 small and medium enterprises (SMEs), Actinic found that 72 per cent of ecommerce sites claimed they were profitable in the 12 months to March 2002.

That figure is up on the year before when 59 per cent of companies surveyed said they were profitable.

However, only one in four companies has adopted ecommerce, although one in ten says they have plans to do so.

Said Phil Rothwell, business development director at Actinic: "This highlights that whilst many ecommerce sites have ceased trading over the last year, new ecommerce sites are still being set-up at a similar rate and many new sites are currently being planned. Confidence is still out there."

Earlier this week a report by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) found that the number of UK companies with standalone ebusinesses has more than halved in the last 12 months.

It found that only 16 per cent of firms now have separate e-business operations, compared with 38 per cent of companies in 2001. ®

Actinic's Ecommerce Report 2002 can be found here.

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