Irish small and medium-sized enterprises that sell online appear are seeing a growth period, with 96% seeing an increase in online sales over the past 12 months, a new survey shows.
A similar proportion (95%) are feeling optimistic about the growth of their business over the next year, PayPal's 2024 'Business of Change Report’ reveals.
The report found that on average, SMEs selling their products or services in international markets generated €240,605 in the last 12 months.
Those surveyed that do no currently sell internationally, but are planning to do so in the future, estimated that the move would generate €122,728 annually for their business.
Today's survey also reveals that 50% of SMEs in Ireland are engaged in international sales, with another 30%intending to do so within the next year.
Among those already selling internationally, 77% have reported a surge in international sales volume over the past three years.
34% of SME owners prioritise delivering an improved customer experience as a crucial factor for business expansion - second only to providing high-quality products or services at 38%.
Rounding out the top five priorities were adopting emerging technologies, utilising online marketplaces, and ensuring affordability of products or services, each at 32%.
According to today's report, the external trends most impacting SMEs in Ireland that sell online are a rising demand for more payment methods (such as buy now pay later and digital wallets like PayPal), more people wanting discounts, promotions and deals and customers wanting more convenience such as click and collect, and package tracking.
Looking ahead, 92% of SME owners prioritise technology investment for their business's future growth, while 23% want to allocate resources to Artificial Intelligence or Machine Learning and 21% plan to invest in Virtual Reality experiences.
