{"id":479,"date":"2025-03-24T06:00:39","date_gmt":"2025-03-24T07:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metalroofingintallahassee.com\/?p=479"},"modified":"2025-03-26T17:16:26","modified_gmt":"2025-03-26T17:16:26","slug":"the-typical-uk-entrepreneur-is-now-online","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metalroofingintallahassee.com\/index.php\/2025\/03\/24\/the-typical-uk-entrepreneur-is-now-online\/","title":{"rendered":"The typical UK entrepreneur is now online"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n

The aftermath of the pandemic hasn\u2019t just changed the way we live and work, but also how we do business, a new survey shows.<\/span><\/p>\n

While the rise of digitisation \u2014 such as <\/span>digital marketing<\/span><\/a>, online payment systems, and automation \u2014 was already prevalent pre-pandemic, reliance on digital solutions has practically skyrocketed in the last five years.<\/span><\/p>\n

The survey by web hosting company GoDaddy finds that UK firms are increasingly dependent on their website. <\/span>More than half of entrepreneurs <\/b>now say that their main income source comes from digital channels, making this the new normal for business. <\/span><\/p>\n

Digital channels are now the backbone of many businesses<\/h2>\n

At the peak of the pandemic, <\/span>ecommerce businesses<\/span><\/a> boomed as many companies moved online. Now, the GoDaddy research suggests this migration is still going strong today.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

According to GoDaddy, <\/span>52% of entrepreneurs <\/b>now say that their main income source comes from digital channels, compared to 45% during the pandemic.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Statistics show the UK is now the <\/span>third-largest market globally<\/span><\/a> for ecommerce, with 163,278 active <\/span>limited companies<\/span><\/a> involved in ecommerce sales (excluding <\/span>sole traders<\/span><\/a>). Meanwhile, the global ecommerce market is expected to <\/span>reach $6.56tn<\/span><\/a> by the end of 2025.<\/span><\/p>\n

Is running a physical business unaffordable?<\/h2>\n

One reason for the rise in these \u2018e-entrepreneurs\u2019 is the rising cost of business premises.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Today\u2019s economy has made it significantly harder for businesses to secure affordable locations. 26% of respondents from GoDaddy\u2019s survey cite this as a major obstacle, an increase from 6% in 2020.<\/span><\/p>\n

Nowadays, the cost of rent for commercial buildings is almost through the roof. Unsurprisingly, London was reported to be the <\/span>most expensive location<\/span><\/a> to start a high street business. But the issue is rife across the whole of the UK.<\/span><\/p>\n

There are also <\/span>business rates<\/span><\/a> to consider. The government claims it will permanently cut rates for high street properties in retail, hospitality and retail from 2026. Until then, a commercial property with a high rateable value can quickly eat into <\/span>profit margins<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Online is easier, but you\u2019ll have to fight for it<\/h2>\n

Digital marketing has made it easy for businesses to promote their offerings through a variety of channels, without having to spend an extortionate amount of money.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, with so many new businesses entering the market (5.5 million small businesses and SMEs were recorded at the beginning of 2024) standing out has become a significant challenge for many.<\/span><\/p>\n

Respondents to the GoDaddy survey also report that online marketing is today a major hurdle. That represents an increase from 15% to 20% in the last five years.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to a report by <\/span>LocaliQ<\/span><\/a>, 36% of businesses cited increasing competition as one of their biggest challenges for successful marketing.<\/span><\/p>\n

Will digital businesses take over?<\/h2>\n

While ecommerce and digital businesses may continue to dominate, it\u2019s unlikely that physical businesses \u2014 whether retail stores or restaurants \u2014 will disappear completely.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For example, while 2024 saw a large number of high street closures as <\/span>brands went into administration<\/span><\/a>, research finds there have been <\/span>324,995 new retail businesses<\/span><\/a>, with small businesses and SMEs making up over 99% of them.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

With ecommerce still on top, UK businesses are likely to stick to the digital route, but that doesn\u2019t mean traditional methods will go away completely. Many businesses will find a way to use both, using the digital space to reach a wider audience while still offering the personal touch or physical presence that customers appreciate with in-person experiences.<\/span><\/p>\n

The post The typical UK entrepreneur is now online<\/a> appeared first on Startups.co.uk<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The aftermath of the pandemic hasn\u2019t just changed the way we live and work, but also how we do business, a new survey shows. While the rise of digitisation \u2014 such as digital marketing, online payment systems, and automation \u2014 was already prevalent pre-pandemic, reliance on digital solutions has practically skyrocketed in the last five…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/metalroofingintallahassee.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/479"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/metalroofingintallahassee.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/metalroofingintallahassee.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metalroofingintallahassee.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metalroofingintallahassee.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=479"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/metalroofingintallahassee.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/479\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":480,"href":"https:\/\/metalroofingintallahassee.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/479\/revisions\/480"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/metalroofingintallahassee.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=479"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metalroofingintallahassee.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=479"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metalroofingintallahassee.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=479"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}