Selling products and services online could do increase the turnover of small and medium-sized enterprises by 42%, with an average increase per company of around 2,5 million euros. In practice, if we estimate that the average revenues of a company are around 6 million, thanks to electronic commerce it is estimated that the same could reach over 8,5 million. These are the calculations contained in the study entitled "The digital transformation for Made in Italy. Challenges and scenarios in times of crisis” created by the Institute for Competitiveness (I-Com) and presented on 3 December during an online public conference organized in collaboration with Amazon Italy. of the Institute for Competitiveness (I-Com).
The I-Com points out that companies that exploit the potential of e-commerce have a statistically significant double probability of belong to a higher turnover class. A probability that triples if the company is large. “Those who sell online have 84% more chances of obtaining higher turnover. A result that could translate into an overall additional turnover, in terms of the production ecosystem, of up to 534 billion euros”, reads the study.
According to the report, in addition to inflating turnover, e-commerce has others notable advantages: it allows companies to reach a larger, in some cases global, market, reduces trade barriers, saves costs and increases cash flow.
Despite this, to date only 8,3% of Italian companies currently sell online, a percentage that decreases as the size of the company decreases.
The report also focuses on the importance of supporting structural investments with solid and widespread digital staff training. “At the end of 2019 just 6,4% of the companies had hired expert figures in the Ict sector in the previous 12 months while an average of 16% of companies with more than 10 employees employed professionals of this type. A complementary strategy could envisage the literacy of personnel already hired through the organization of training sessions: again in 2019, only 16,7% of small businesses had started courses of this type. However, the percentage rises as the size of the company increases and reaches 38,4% for medium-sized companies and over 60% for large ones”, explains the study.
Finally, I-Com analysts highlight the need for Italy to work within Europe so that the digital single market is completed, the barriers removed and the regulations harmonized.
