Recent Sensis reports reveal small Aussie businesses do better with local buyers, increased internet and social media use with +65’s and jump in tablet devices, smartphone and wireless use

Recent Sensis reports have revealed that Australian small businesses are clicking with local customers online with many still grappling doing business in the digital age. A report also revealed that internet and social media is gaining popularity among those who are 65 years of age and older. The reports also revealed that there is an increase in the use of tablet devices, smart phones and wireless internet.

Small and medium businesses

Australian small and medium businesses (SMEs) are struggling to capitalise on the internet’s global nature and are still far more likely to make an online sale to a customer located just around the corner than to someone interstate or overseas.

According to the annual Sensis e-Business Report released today, the opportunity to reach international markets with e-commerce is failing to translate to overseas sales for Australian small businesses.

The report found most online sales by Australian small businesses were made to customers in the same city or town, and the likelihood of a sale diminished as the distance between a business and potential customers increased.

Eighty-seven per cent of SMEs with an online presence successfully sold goods and services to local customers, a figure unchanged from the previous year. Two thirds (66 per cent) of businesses selling online said the bulk of their online sales came from local customers, an increase of 6 per cent on the previous year.

Report author Christena Singh said the report clearly showed that Australian small business were still grappling with how to use the internet to target overseas customers.

Says Singh: “E-commerce offers SMEs the opportunity to reach a potentially global market, so it is interesting to note most sales made using e-commerce are still relatively close to home.

“If small businesses want to make the most of the new world of mobile and internet enabled customers they really need to think strategically and put in place a strong digital business plan.”

Although 62 per cent of SMEs have a website for their business, and 27 per cent use social media for business purposes, only 15 per cent have an actual digital business strategy, according to the report. This is despite 55 per cent of SMEs reporting that they had recovered their initial investment in e-commerce, with a further 17 per cent saying they expect to recover their investment in the next year.

When asked what concerned them about e-commerce, Australian small businesses nominated internet security as the number one issue. Some 46 per cent of online businesses identified security problems relating to hacking as their biggest worry, an increase of two percentage points from last year. More than one in four SMEs (27 per cent) said a lack of computer expertise and knowledge was a major burden, an increase of 5 per cent over the past year. A lack of personal contact with customers; the cost and time to introduce new technologies and the cost of hardware and software were issues raised by at least one in five SMEs.

Increasing internet use with +65’s

Older Australians have taken to the internet in droves in the past 12 months, with 89 per cent of the over-65s saying they accessed the net last year, up from 59 per cent the year before and a 1000% increase in their use of tablet devices.

The annual Sensis e-Business Report, released today, shows the increase in internet use followed a big jump in ownership of home computers and tablet devices during the past year among those aged 65 and over.

In the past year there was a 23 percentage point increase in people 65 and over who said they have a computer at home (up from 59 percentage points to 82 per cent).

Among older people, the increase in ownership of tablet devices such as an iPad or Galaxy jumped even more dramatically. Almost one in five (19 per cent) now own a tabletdevice compared to one in 50 (2 per cent) just a year ago.

Use of social media more than tripled during the past year among over 65s, with 27 per cent saying they have used social media sites in the past year, up from 10 per cent last year.

Interestingly, almost half (49 per cent) say they use social media less than once a week, whereas 42 per cent of the total population say they use social media several times a day.

Singh, said the results showed a significant number of Australians aged over 65 were embracing the internet.

Says Singh: “I think 2012 will be remembered as the year that older Australians got online. It’s interesting to see that many are choosing to do this with a tablet device rather than just their home computer.”

The report also found interesting differences in the ways older Australians used the internet compared to the broader population.

Says Singh: “The over-65s are less likely to shop online and when they do they shop a little differently, with a bigger emphasis on books and less emphasis on clothes,

accessories and shoes.

“The main reasons they give for using the internet are the same as those for other age groups: looking for information on products, services and suppliers, and looking

up weather details.”

Of the 44 per cent of people 65 and over who have shopped online, 58 per cent have bought books (compared to 43 per cent of all those who bought online), 37 per cent bought airline tickets (45 per cent), 33 per cent clothing, accessories and shoes (48 per cent), and 27 per cent music (37 per cent).

“Interestingly, using a mobile phone to access the internet hasn’t yet caught on with the older age group, but this may change over time.”

Only 11 per cent of people over 65 say they have gone online using their phone, compared to 58 per cent of the total population. This figure is as high as 88 per cent in the 20-29 age group.

Jump in tablet, smartphone and wireless use

Mobile technology continues to revolutionise the way we live, with a big jump in the past 12 months in the number of Australians using technology to get online no matter where they are.

The number of consumers accessing the internet on their mobile phone has more than doubled in the past three years, from 26 per cent to 58 per cent.

The annual Sensis e-Business Report shows significant growth in the ownership of smartphones, tablet devices and wireless internet access among small businesses and consumers.

Singh, said the results showed that Australians were increasingly relying on their ability to access the internet at all times.

“Internet access is now rarely just about logging on to a desktop computer. Many consumers and businesses now rely on being able to access the internet 24/7 wherever they are.

“We are revolutionising the way we look for information, and small businesses have the opportunity to use the internet and mobile devices to reach customers and grow their market.”

The Sensis survey found that more than half of all Australians now own a smart phone. Smart phone ownership has jumped by a third in the past year, up from 44 to 59 per cent of the population. Smart phone ownership among small businesses is even higher, with almost two-thirds (63 per cent) now using such a device, up 17 percentage points on last year.

The most popular use of the internet on mobile phones is looking for maps and directions (69%) and looking up weather information (69%), followed by social networking (64%), and looking for information on products and services (62%).

Business owners are gradually getting more savvy about responding to an increasingly mobile online customer base. While only 9 per cent of SMEs have mobile-specific websites, a further 21 per cent say they are planning on getting one in the coming year. The
re has also been a 10 per cent jump in the number of businesses loading location maps onto their website.

Interestingly, the most frequently nominated place that people use their mobile phones to access the internet is at home (56 per cent), despite many people also having access through computers or tablet devices. The statistic highlights that using a phone is a preference for many people, rather than a necessity.

The popularity of tablet devices has also more than doubled during the year, with 30 per cent of Australians saying they currently have one, up from 12 per cent last year. Another 16 per cent say they plan to get one in the next 12 months.

Small business is increasingly turning to tablet devices, with a 13 percentage point jump in ownership since last year. This has been reflected in slight drops in small business ownership of desktop computers (3 per cent drop), notebook computers (5 per cent drop) and satellite navigation devices (5 per cent drop).

There has also been strong growth in wireless broadband connection among small businesses, with an increase of 12 per cent over last year (to 37 per cent). Of those small businesses who don’t have wireless, 22 per cent say they plan to get wireless broadband in the next 12 months.

Says Singh: “The rush to embrace mobile technology is backed up when you look at the way small businesses say they use the internet.”

The top five reasons small business says they use the net are:

1. To communicate via email (97%)

2. Internet banking (91%)

3. Looking for information about products or services (89%)

4. Getting reference information or researching data (87%)

5. Looking for suppliers of products or services (86%)

Teleworking (working outside the normal workplace aided by some form of technology) is also on the rise, with almost two-thirds (65 per cent) of employees reporting that they had used technology in the past year to help them work from a location other than their office. This is up from 56 per cent last year.

One in five Australians who teleworked reported doing so at a client’s premises, and 13 per cent reported teleworking at cafes.