|
Study
Shows Seven Out of 10 U.S. Small Businesses Now Have Internet
Access
MURRAY
HILL, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Dun & Bradstreet survey of
small businesses finds nearly 40 percent have their own Web
sites But nearly six out of ten say the Web has had no
measurable impact on their businesses.
The
number of small companies conducting business on the Web is
growing, but U.S. small-business owners are sending mixed
signals about the value of e-commerce, according to the 19th
annual Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) Small-Business Survey.
Seventy
percent of small-business owners responding to D&B's survey,
conducted in February and March 2000, said they now have access
to the Internet, up from 57 percent last year. More than a third
have their own Web page or site, up from just over a quarter
last year. But while 31 percent of the small-business
decision-makers responding to the survey said the Internet had
helped them, more than half said that the Web had no measurable
impact on their business. The number of small businesses saying
they advertised on the Web in 1999 fell ten percent from the
year-ago survey.
"Small-business
owners are proceeding cautiously into the realm of
e-marketing," said William F. Doescher, senior vice
president, The Dun & Bradstreet Corporation. "D&B's
survey showed a notable decline in the use of the Web for
marketing and for business research. In fact, the only area of
Internet use that drew more small businesses to the Web in 1999
was purchasing goods and services for the business."
Nevertheless,
Doescher noted, this year's survey found that 38 percent of
small companies with Web sites transacted business with
customers over their sites, up from 33 percent in the previous
survey. On average, 8 percent of 1999 revenues came from their
Web sites, down slightly from twelve percent in 1998.
Huge
Rise in Small-Business Access to the Internet, but Usage
Patterns Shift
Seventy percent of small businesses responding to the D&B
survey this year have some access to the Internet. This is up
from 57 percent in the prior survey, which was in turn up from
47 percent a year earlier. On average, approximately two-thirds
of employees at these small businesses have access to the Web at
work. This figure is consistent with last year.
A
notable change has occurred in how small businesses use the
Internet. The top use of the Internet among small businesses is
still e-mail (71 percent of respondents), but every significant
usage category slipped this year, with the exception of
purchasing goods and services for the business. Forty-three
percent said they used the Web for this purpose, up from 38
percent in last year's survey. Use of the Internet for research
at work showed the greatest declines -- from 71 percent to 58
percent for business research and from 64 percent to 50 percent
for personal research.
Used
Internet for . . .
in 1999
in 1998
E-Mail
71%
76%
Business Research
58%
71%
Personal Research
50%
64%
Purchase Goods/Services
43%
38%
(business use)
Purchase Goods/Services
31%
35%
(personal use)
Sell/Market Products
26%
29%
Women-owned
small businesses were more likely to have Internet access than
their male-owned counterparts (67 percent vs. 63 percent). They
were also more likely to conduct research on the Web – both
business research (62 percent vs. 52 percent) and personal
research (60 percent vs. 44 percent). They were also more likely
to purchase goods and services than their male-owned
counterparts -- either for business (46 percent vs. 34 percent)
or for personal use (42 percent vs. 25 percent). Minority-owned
businesses also use the Web to conduct business research more
often than do other small businesses (64 percent vs. 54
percent). They also buy business goods and services more often
(53 percent vs. 37 percent) and sell and market their products
more frequently (39 percent vs. 23 percent) than do
non-minority-owned businesses.
Significant
Rise in Small-Business Presence on the Web in 2000
Overall, D&B found that small-business Web sites are on the
rise, with 38 percent of survey respondents reporting a Web
presence, up from 28 percent just a year ago. Not surprisingly,
larger small businesses (those with between 26 and 100
employees) were much more likely to report having their own Web
page or site, but every size category showed an increase over
last year (see chart below). Home-based businesses continued to
lag behind in this area, but still showed growth, with nearly a
quarter now boasting Web sites, vs. 16 percent a year ago. Forty
percent and 41 percent of minority- and women-owned businesses,
respectively, indicated that they have Web pages, also up
significantly from last year in both cases.
Most
Small Businesses Say Internet Has Had No Impact
Asked for the first time this year about the impact of the
Internet on their business, more than half of small-business
decision-makers told D&B that, so far, there had been none.
Almost all of those saying the Web has had some effect on their
business indicated that the impact was positive (31 percent of
all respondents), with only one percent of respondents saying
the Internet had hurt their business. Women-owned businesses
were slightly more likely to feel helped by the Internet, at 33
percent.
A
control sample of mid-sized businesses (101-500 employees),
surveyed simultaneously by D&B, revealed a much higher level
of satisfaction with the Internet -- 45 percent of this group
said the Internet has helped their business.
"The
Internet has changed the business landscape and this year's
survey found that small businesses may not yet be reaping the
bounty of the Web the way many larger companies are,"
Doescher noted. "Nevertheless, a quarter of the
small-business owners we spoke to say they intend to make a
significant investment in a Web site or Internet marketing this
year, which is up slightly from last year. Minority- owned and
home-based businesses, in particular, are more likely to invest
in the Web. Despite fluctuating Internet stocks and uneven
dot-com earnings, there appears to be a sense in the
small-business community that e-commerce is still a good bet for
sales growth and market opportunity."
Additional
results from Dun & Bradstreet's 19th annual Small Business
Survey are revealed in a separate release, also issued today. A
fuller report on the annual D&B Small-Business Survey is
available by contacting Trevor DeMont at 908/665-5435.
Dun
& Bradstreet, a company of The Dun & Bradstreet
Corporation (NYSE: DNB), is the world's leading provider of
business-to-business credit, marketing and purchasing
information and receivables management services. The Dun &
Bradstreet Corporation also includes Moody's Investors Service,
the leading provider of credit ratings, research and analysis
covering debt instruments and securities in the global capital
markets. The Dun & Bradstreet Corporation based in Murray
Hill, N.J., employs approximately 11,500 people in 37 countries
with majority-owned company entities, and generated 1999 revenue
of $1.97 billion. Additional information about Dun &
Bradstreet is available at www.dnb.com.
Return
To The Top
Read
More Technical Articles
|
