Online sellers are targeting expansion into multiple countries, with 84 per cent of small business firms already present in the US, according to data from finance company WorldFirst.
The findings come from a survey of 193 small business online sellers in Australia by WorldFirst, with those companies surveyed largely selling in the home and garden (31 per cent of respondents), health and personal care (22 per cent of respondents), clothing and accessories (15 per cent) and toys and games (15 per cent) categories.
Companies said the key objective of 42 per cent of online businesses is to expand into multiple countries – and while these businesses are small, they are already meeting that goal.
WorldFirst said Australia is certainly not the biggest market for online businesses, and as such, only 53 per cent of respondents revealed they sell products domestically, while 84 per cent revealing they sell to the US market. The UK is the third-largest market, with 31 per cent of respondents selling to this location.
“The survey results confirm that online businesses are seeking to tap into the largest customer pool they can possibly get,” said Ray Ridgeway, managing director of WorldFirst.
Regarding the platforms that help them get there, Amazon is more popular than eBay: 62 per cent of respondents use Amazon as their primary marketplace while 10 per cent use Ebay as their primary marketplace.
According to website rankings on Alexa, Ebay is the most popular e-commerce store among Australian shoppers.
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