The IEDR are the body responsible for the administration and management of Ireland’s official internet address.
According to the IEDR’s “IE Digital Health Index” only 35% of SMEs in Ireland can take payments through their current website, while only two in five can take sale orders online.
The research was conducted by the IEDR ahead of Black Friday and Christmas. It was also found that only 14% of SMEs intend to hold online special offers around this period, which is typically the biggest period of the year for online sales.
According to RTE, the IEDR has described this as a digital crisis and “called for a combined effort from Government, industry organisations and Local Enterprise Offices to get SMEs selling online and capturing more of the €6 billion a year in e-commerce transactions by Irish consumers.”
Of that €6 billion, only a tiny amount is spent in Ireland. So says David Curtin, the CEO of IEDR, who also pointed out that many Irish online shoppers buy products from online stores in the UK and Europe due to a lack of eCommerce-enabled websites in this country.
“By 2020, the value of Ireland’s digital economy is expected to more than double to 10% of GDP, or €21 billion. Our own SMEs risk being left out of this commercial revolution if investment in their online capabilities remains low,” he cautioned.
One positive that came from the IEDR report concerns the levels of social media activity from Irish SMEs. A survey from December 2014 to September 2015 revealed that the number of companies with a Facebook presence grew from 44% to 51%. Twitter used increased from 15% to 22% while LinkedIn doubled from 8% to 16%.
From the IEDR’s research, it is clear that there are large gaps in the Irish market when it comes to online sales. Are you ready to take advantage of that gap? Matrix Internet has been building eCommerce-enabled websites since our foundation over 15 years ago. We can help you reach the huge online Irish audience that is clearly there to be tapped into.
Does your business need a website built for eCommerce? Or do you need to rethink your digital marketing strategy? Get in touch with Matrix today or take our free website grader and take the first steps towards your new website!
eCommerce Website Design & Development
By Matrix Internet
By Conor McCaffrey