Ecommerce Businesses Prospered In 2021 - J&P Accountants
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2021 was an extremely strange year for small and medium sized ecommerce businesses. Whilst businesses undoubtedly faced many challenges with cyber fraud and marketing fatigue on the rise, not to mention the lingering effects of the pandemic, figures have shown that 92% online traders enjoyed a growth in sales in 2021. Indeed, over 20% saw a surge of more than 40%. Let’s take a look at why.

The Issues That Ecommerce Businesses Faced In 2021

Of course, the most obvious issues that ecommerce businesses have faced are as a result of the pandemic. Shipping delays are probably the biggest concern for most ecommerce providers at the moment, as ports across the globe still experience delays. This has a knock on affect for the entire supply chain as couriers struggle to keep up with increased demand. Obviously, Brexit will not have helped this situation.

However, the other issues faced by these businesses are perhaps a little less obvious. 35% of businesses are reportedly most concerned by cyber fraud. As more and more transactions are taking place online, there is obviously more scope for fraudsters to go unnoticed. In addition, many ecommerce business owners have expressed concerns that consumers may be getting inundated with marketing messages. This has caused concerns that some marketing channels, such as mailing lists, are becoming less effective.

The Positives That Ecommerce Businesses Enjoyed In 2021

Despite all the issues facing ecommerce businesses in 2021, the industry still was able to prosper. Almost a third of ecommerce businesses are thought to have experienced a 40% growth in sales, with up to 90% of online SMBs thought to have had an increase of 10%. Whilst there are still lingering effects of the pandemic, the increased stability in the financial position of many consumers over the last year has meant that consumers are feeling more confident to purchase again.

Furthermore, since 2020 the shrewdest of ecommerce business owners have invested heavily in their websites to ensure that they are able to deal with the increase demand. This spending seems to have grown, with surveys showing that 85% of online retailers invested more in their online technology in 2021 than they did in 2020. This, coupled with the reduction in random spikes of ecommerce, has meant that the industry has flourished.

What The Experts Say

“The past year has been an exciting and complicated time for eCommerce”, said Jimmy Kim, CEO of Sendlane in an interview with ‘ecommerce news EU’. “Certainly the pandemic has accelerated the shift to online shopping, but consumer buying habits were moving in this direction well before Covid, too.

What really stands out about our 2021 eCommerce Health study is that 53 percent of respondents believe the state of ecommerce is ‘strong,’ and 39 percent believe it is ‘very strong.’ This tells me that despite the concerns related to the economy, shipping issues, cyber fraud, etc., ecommerce retailers are in a great position to succeed in 2022.”

We Can Help You Expand Your Business

If you are a business who participates in cross border e-commerce, or importing of any kind, we would be more than happy to help you register for an EU and UK EORI number. We can also help you register for UK VAT, the UK VAT deferral scheme, file your UK and EU VAT returns, and help you comply with VAT in case your account faces any issues.

At J&P, helping your business is our passion, and we understand that companies across the UK are at risk now more than ever. We are here to support you through this post-Brexit period, so please do not hesitate to give us a call on 0161 637 1080 or send an e-mail to enquiries@jpaccountant.com.