Survey of SMEs reveals internet start up confidence in continued ecommerce boom

As COVID-19 drove more consumers than ever to shop online, UK e-commerce SMEs are confident this trend will continue to drive sales.

Huboo, a unique warehouse fulfilment service, found that 80% of its customers – mainly UK internet retail start-ups selling everything from teeth whitening strips, coffee pods and home fitness products to home-schooling supplies, hand sanitiser and multi-vitamins – viewed the pandemic as a major opportunity for their business.

In an online survey of its customer base Huboo found that, counter to talk of businesses suffering as a result of lockdown, over a third (36%) saw an increase in sales and 31% saw improvement in their customer retention rates.

And as the UK emerges from lockdown, the findings provide an insight into the SME landscape:

• Half of the businesses surveyed said the opening of the high street was not affecting their revenue
• Two fifths (42%) of the growing sector said they felt well supported from the government during the crisis with 31% of the market having accessed government assistance offered over the last few months
• 62% of the online SMEs surveyed said they have positively changed their future business plans because of coronavirus with one in 10 planning to hire more staff and 30% looking to introduce flexible working.
• Of the businesses that had found challenges over the last few months, 11% said suppliers were the issue and 20% put problems down to the overall supply chain

Huboo provides multi-channel fulfilment and storage services to small to medium-sized UK businesses, a sector which is woefully underserved as many flexible, quick and affordable fulfilment providers are traditionally only accessible to larger companies.

Martin Bysh, CEO of Huboo, explained:

“While coronavirus has had significant impact on many UK businesses, one area which has been able to operate and grow is that of home-grown online start-ups.

“We’re a nation of entrepreneurs – there are 5.9 million small and mid-sized enterprises in the UK – with an amazing array of innovative online businesses launching up and down the country all the time. More so than ever because of the pandemic – people are looking for new ways to make money.

“It is right that government has recognised the role that SMEs play in our economy. With less lip service and more investment, there is an opportunity for the whole country to benefit from the success of the online market.”

Gemma Guilera, co-founder of Moving Beans, and Huboo customer, added:

“Investing in our online business has meant we’ve served customers in new regions and increased sales with pre-existing customers. Our online presence is going to be key to our continued growth. We certainly won’t be looking back.”