Royal Mail’s annual tracker study into the expectations and challenges facing UK SME online retailers revealed the sector is in positive mood with seven in ten businesses expecting sales to increase in 2015.

The optimism for growth – which is up nine percentage points on last year - is despite 76 per cent of SME online retailers saying competition is more intense than a year ago. The increasing number of websites was the top reason for rising competition (67 per cent), overtaking price sensitivity (42 per cent) which ranked first last year.

Targeting online marketplaces for growth

The study found that 63 per cent of UK SME online retailers are planning to increase the number of channels they trade through in 2015 to grow sales. One in four (24 per cent) e-retailers plan to start using online marketplaces to increase sales. A further 21 per cent plan to open a shop and one in six (16 per cent) are planning to take out space in a store to sell their goods.

Delivering sales and customer satisfaction in 2014

Six in ten (58 per cent) reported an increase in sales in 2014, up from the 49 per cent who reported growth in 2013, the study found Delivery when expected (62 per cent) jumped to top of the rankings for factors driving customer satisfaction last year. The price of goods (52 per cent) was ranked the second most important factor. The importance of the quality of the product fell. In the study, 44 per cent of online retailers said this was a key factor, compared with 66 per cent last year.

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Source: Royal Mail