New research from PayPal has shown that Canadian small businesses are behind the times with regards e-commerce. Fewer than one in five of them (17%) are using payment tools such as electronic invoicing, an online marketplace or an e-commerce enabled website.

In a statement, PayPal reported: “Canadian small businesses are not harnessing the power of e-commerce to sell where their customers are shopping – 80% of Canadians shopped online in 20152 – and it shows up on their bottom line.

“Businesses that accept online payments as a complement to their offline revenue stream reported an average revenue of $175,000, which is more than double businesses that operate without online payment capabilities ($80,000). Businesses that only accept payments online reported an average revenue of $150,000.”

PayPal continued: “A significant majority of Canadian SMBs are not ready to participate let alone compete in the digital economy. The study shows that 83% of Canadian SMBs do not accept any form of online or mobile payment and 71% of this group said they would never consider selling online.”

When the researchers asked the SMBs what was holding them back from embracing e-commerce more fully, the chief reasons given were concerns about providing the same level of service (30%), followed by online fraud (21%), limited understanding of technology (19%), and distribution or delivery issues (19%). 
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