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SME businesses should prepare for an increase in online shopping this holiday season, according to recent research.
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Research reveals consumer spending preferences for holiday season
22 October 2024
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New research from CPM Australia revealed the upcoming holiday season will bring an increase in online shopping preferences, impacting small businesses.
The new report highlighted consumer shopping habits as well as insight for retailers ahead of the holiday season and busiest trading period.
CPM Australia said the uptick in preference for online shopping would impact SME businesses if their products were not available to shoppers online.
The data showed that 89 per cent of the 500 respondents said they planned to shop both online and visit “brick-and-mortar” shops, yet 69 per cent preferred purchasing from online marketplaces.
BizCover general manager Brad Miller said despite shoppers not looking to slow down their spending in the current economy, an increase in trading could bring certain risks for SMEs.
“With more and more people turning to online shopping, this could present increased risks for e-commerce SMEs,” he said.
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The report revealed spending intentions for Christmas 2024 as “cautiously optimistic”, despite the challenging economic climate.
Seventy-six per cent of shoppers said they would spend more or the same as last year, indicating that SMEs should attempt to maximise their sales before shoppers begin purchasing online.
Miller noted many SMEs don’t trade online due to increased risks such as cyber attacks.
The report said online sellers were faced with collecting, transmitting and storing customer payment details valuable to cyber criminals.
SME owners didn’t believe they were at risk of a cyber attack, despite SMEs contributing to 43 per cent of cyber attacks in Australia, according to the report.
Miller said cyber attacks don’t just affect e-commerce SMEs, as businesses with a website, an EFTPOS machine or smart devices are also at risk.
“No business owner wants to think about shutting up shop during the busiest trading period of the year because a cyberattack has completely disrupted business,” he said.
Research also revealed that 63 per cent of Australians planned to complete their shopping by the end of November to coincide with online sales such as Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
Millar said signalled retailers and small business owners to ensure they’re prepared to meet demand well before the beginning of summer.
However, small businesses would need to attempt to increase sales before this period before they would be disadvantaged by online sales.
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