Beating the “digital drag”
How unleashing the potential of the UK’s smallest businesses could add £77 billion and 885,000 jobs to our economy.
The SME myth
The UK’s smallest businesses fuel the economy and create more than a quarter of all jobs. Our report shows a ‘digital drag’ is holding them back, costing our economy billions.
Support for small firms (0-9 employees) is often folded into SMEs who employ up to 250 people. But their needs are very different.
We need to speed up digitalisation and unleash the potential of our small business economy. The impact could be huge.
Alex von Schirmeister, UK Managing Director at Xero
Beating the “digital drag”: key data from our report
Digital tools fuel growth:
Those that digitalised most in the last four years grew their revenue by 8.1%. The slowest saw a 4.7% decline.
A divide in digital uptake:
Larger SMEs use almost twice as many digital tools than smaller ones - an average 8 each compared with 4.7.
Billions in potential growth:
If all small businesses digitalised at the rate of the top 20% of innovators, revenue could grow by £77.3 bn.
How digital tools can help fuel your growth
Smooth operators
38% of small businesses report that digitalisation made their business run more smoothly
Happy customers
38% claim that new digital tools helped them better understand customers and improve their experience
Prompt payment
28% said adopting digital payment systems allowed them to get paid quicker
The decision-making process is key when looking to invest in new technologies and we’ve been through it regularly over the last couple of years. We look for tools that are scalable as we need technology that can grow alongside the brand.
Michele and Angus, Once Upon a Tuesday
Beating the digital drag Xero blog
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