Even Small Businesses in the US are Embracing the Future of E-commerce

Alibaba’s survey of a sample of US retailers merchants an optimistic picture of the e-commerce environment among small businesses. As many as 84% of respondents are cautiously optimistic about the outlook for this year, while 44% are very optimistic. Conversely, only 6% of respondents are pessimistic about the growth of their online business.

Small business owners want to go online

The survey revealed that only 53% of respondents are currently engaged in online sales. In doing so, 44% have not yet used this channel and only 3% are still reluctant to consider online sales.

Looking to the future, the survey suggests a significant shift in the strategic focus of small businesses towards e-commerce. In fact, 75% of respondents expect online business to play a significantly larger role in their overall strategy by 2024. This trend highlights the evolving digital landscape and the untapped potential for wider audience reach and business growth enabled by e-commerce platforms.

In addition, the integration of AI integration is emerging as a key factor. Approximately two-thirds of survey respondents report using some form of machine learning, while others express an intention to initiate change in the AI space. Interestingly, despite the clear benefits, adoption rates among high-income companies remain slow.

“Adoption has been remarkably slow in high-earning companies, with 83% of respondents from companies earning more than $5 million not using AI,” according to the report.

Half of the year is almost over, and U.S. entrepreneurs see the next step as strengthening their business’ online presence beyond borders.