Ecommerce Market Survey Reveals Room for Growth in SME Sector

Summary of the findings Actinics report reveals that 26% of end users wanting advice on ecommerce would go to a web designer as their first source. This is over 10% higher than in 2001, and compares with only 16% who would go first to an IT reseller, consultant or VAR. The other most likely source of help is a friend or colleague, also at 26%. The average price charged by web designers for developing an online store was £3825. Roughly a third of stores (32%) cost £1000 or less. The survey gives a number of indicators that the web design market is still immature, and likely to undergo further significant changes - so there are still opportunities for businesses that can respond creatively and flexibly to market movement. - 71% of web design projects still involve the building of completely new sites. - Companies with 50-99 employees are currently the most active in employing the services of a web designer. Those with less than 10 employees (comprising 95% of all businesses) are 100 times less likely to have a professionally designed ecommerce site. - The majority of ecommerce sites are still completely custom built - whereas in a mature software market packages typically dominate. Nevertheless, 42% of professionally installed ecommerce facilities now use a software package; and 55% of web designers agree that packages will eventually dominate. The packaged ecommerce solution most widely recognised and most widely used by web designers was Actinic, with 63% brand recognition and 37% usage among web designers. The report is based on an independent survey by pfa Research among a random sample of 70 web design companies. A copy of the full report is available free from www.actinic.co.uk/docs/Wdreport03.pdf or by email fromjane.lee@dexterity.co.uk