Small businesses in the construction and contracting industry lag behind all other industries in embracing the Internet, according to the latest Small Business Research Board (SBRB) study released here today.
NORTHFIELD, Ill. (BusinessWire EON) September 13, 2007 --
Small businesses in the construction and contracting industry lag behind
all other industries in embracing the Internet, according to the latest
Small Business Research Board (SBRB) study released here today.
The study co-sponsored by Business Today Magazine disclosed that 57% of
the small construction and contracting firms participating in the study
do not have websites. Furthermore, the poll also indicated that the
construction and contracting industry will continue to trail other
industries with fewer than 14% projecting sales resulting from their
eCommerce efforts will increase during the next 12 to 24 months.
As a contrast, of the small businesses involved in manufacturing, fewer
than 33% did not have a website. With 67% of the manufacturing companies
having websites, manufacturers led all segments.
Of the construction and contracting firms participating in the poll,
34.2% did say they had at least one website with the remaining 8.8% of
the respondents having between two and ten websites.
Nationally, 42.7% of the respondents said they did not have a website
while 47.3% said they had one website. Another 9.1% said they had
between two and ten websites and .9% said they had more than ten
websites.
Additionally, 56.1% of the small businesses with websites said they sell
products and services on a company-owned site. Half of the construction
and contracting firms with websites said they sell products or services
on their sites.
The study showed that 93.6% of the construction and contracting firms
believe revenue generated from their Internet sites will increase or
remain the same during the next 12 to 24 months. Of that total, 13.9%
believe the revenue will increase.
Small retailers were the most optimistic, 96.6% projecting eCommerce
revenues will remain the same or increase. However, 39.8% of that total
said they are projecting revenue increases.
Nationally, 96.7% said they expect Internet revenues to increase or stay
the same during the next 12 to 24 months, with 29.2% predicting
increases.
Owners and managers of more than 550 small businesses representing
numerous industries responded to the nationwide SBRB / Business Today
study.
The SBRB / Business Today report provides specific detail by size of
business, by industry, by region (and in some instances by state) the
various experiences each segment has had with the Internet and their
commitment to offer products and services through eCommerce transactions.
The study, for instance, breaks out information by size of business and
industry on the number of firms with websites, the number of websites
they have, the percentage of their product line available on their sites
and percentage of business revenue derived from eCommerce.
Overall, the study also found that:
-
Of construction and contracting businesses with websites, 46.8% said
they have one site and 8.6% have more than two sites.
-
Among only those construction and contracting businesses with
websites, 50% said none of their products or services can be purchased
on their websites while 32.3% said up to 25% of their products or
services could be purchased on line.
-
Again, relating to construction and contracting companies with
Internet sites, 29.4% said they generated up to 25% of their company’s
revenue from eCommerce in 2006, another 8.8% generated from 26% to 99%
of their revenue from Internet sales and 5.9% generated 100% of their
revenue exclusively from the net.
The SBRB / Business Today Small Business eCommerce Study is believed to
be among the most comprehensive efforts recently undertaken to
understand eCommerce and the reality of its impact on small businesses.
The resulting information thus provides both a snapshot on current
attitudes and realizations among small business owners as well as
establishes benchmarks.
Among the questions asked were:
-
How many websites does your company own?
-
On how many of these websites do you sell products / conduct
transactions?
-
What percentage of your product line can be purchased on your Internet
site?
-
How much of your sales were transacted on your Internet site(s) last
year?
-
Over the next 12 to 24 months do you expect your Internet sales to
increase, decrease or remain the same?
Poll participants also were asked to provide information on the
percentage of products and services that could be purchased on their
websites five years ago as well as the correlating percentage of sales
that were derived. This data contributed to helping establish trends and
historical benchmarks.
The study provides data for the all participants and also delineates
data pertaining to only those businesses which have Internet sites.
Data is included for such industries as manufacturing, construction and
contracting, retail, food and beverage, distribution and wholesaling,
transportation and automotive.
Business Today Magazine is dedicated to serving the information needs of
owners and managers of small businesses. The primary goals of the
quarterly publication based in Buffalo Grove, Il. are to inform and
educate its readers by providing timely, useful information that will
help readers both contend with the daily demands of running their
businesses as well as provide insight on achieving long term growth.
The Small Business Research Board ascertains and reports the opinions of
small business owners and managers on a wide variety of topics related
to their own businesses as well as national and international issues
that may impact their operations. The SBRB conducts these studies for
the benefit of small business owners and managers. The SBRB also
provides opportunities for third parties to gain real time insight into
the attitudes of small businesses nationwide through the independently
conducted research.
The latest information about the Small Business Research Board can be
found at www.biznus.net.
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Small Business Research Board / Business Today
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Selected Results of National eCommerce Study
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-- September 2007
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All US
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Construction & Contracting
|
|
|
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Percentage of small businesses owning websites
|
|
|
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none
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42.7
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57.0
|
|
1
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47.3
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34.2
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2-plus
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10.0
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8.8
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|
|
|
|
|
|
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|
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Of companies with Internet sites, number of sites selling
products, services
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|
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none
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43.9
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50.0
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|
1
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44.8
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38.2
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2- plus
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11.3
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11.8
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Internet revenue expectations next 12 to 24 months
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increase
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29.2
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13.9
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remain the same
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67.5
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79.7
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decrease
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3.3
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6.3
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Small Business Research Board / Business Today eCommerce Selected Results
(C) 2007 Small Business Research Board
NOTE TO EDITORS: This article is the sixth of a series on the study of
small business, the Internet and eCommerce by the Small Business
Research Board.
The first two in the series were “Nearly 30%
of Small Businesses Expect Internet Sales to Increase Next 12 –
24 Months According to Latest SBRB Study” and “Largest
of Small Businesses, Smallest of Small Businesses Most Optimistic About
Revenue Growth Generated from eCommerce; Owners, Managers Project 12 –
24 Month Sales Increases.”
“Small Businesses in Northeast, Midwest Most
Optimistic About Revenue Growth Generated from eCommerce Sales Next 12 –
24 Months” was the third and the fourth and
fifth in the series were “Small Businesses in
New York More Involved, Slightly More Bullish on Internet Than Other
Northeast States According to SBRB Study” and “Fewer
than Half of California Small Businesses Have Websites According to
latest SBRB Study.”
Additional releases will be issued about other industries, among them
manufacturing, retailing, food and beverage, distribution and
wholesaling, automotive and transportation.
For more information about this poll, copies of the complete study and
the results of previous studies or other matters related to the Small
Business Research Board, please contact Raymond D. Minkus, (847)
441-4192.
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