Some dated, yet potentially useful, statistics from ONS

The last Office for National Statistics (ONS) annual survey into e-commerce and ICT activity measured the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) by businesses with 10 or more employees. The 2009 (I know, if anyone has access to a more recent survey, let me know!) annual e-commerce survey provided information on UK businesses’ use of information and communication technologies (ICTs). The survey was sent to approximately 8,000 UK businesses with employment of 10 or more. Most sectors of the economy were covered.

The key findings from the survey show that:

• the value of e-commerce sales by nonfinancial businesses was £408.3bn in 2009, an increase of 24.9 per cent on 2008
• sales over a website reached £115.0bn
• e-commerce non-website sales (eg EDI) were valued at £293.3bn
• 14.9 per cent of businesses sold over a website, while 6.9 per cent sold over ICTs other than a website
• 51.9 per cent of businesses purchased over computer networks, with a value of £466.3bn
• 76.0 per cent of businesses had a website

The largest businesses continued to lead the way with adoption of new technology. However, smaller businesses were closing the gap with increasing numbers using broadband and mobile Internet, developing websites and using the Internet to interact with public authorities.

The value of purchases by businesses over computer networks reached a new high in 2009 with purchases valued at £466.3bn. In keeping with the large increase in the value of purchases, there was a significant increase in the proportion of businesses that purchased this way, from 33.3 per cent in 2008 to 51.9 per cent in 2009.

Just over 91 per cent of businesses had Internet access in 2009, with 87.4 per cent connecting via a broadband connection. Over a third of businesses used a 3G mobile connection, at 36.8 per cent. Businesses continued to provide staff with access to the Internet, with 6.8 million of those employees within scope of the survey able to access the Internet at the workplace.

In 2009, e-commerce sales increased by almost a quarter from the 2008 estimate of £326.9bn to £408.3bn. This figure represented 16.7 per cent of the value of all sales by UK non-financial sector businesses. In 2009, just over three quarters of businesses had a website, at 76.0 per cent. The proportion of businesses selling over a website reached 14.9 per cent in 2009, up from 13.0 per cent in 2008.

Sales over a website were valued at £115.0bn in 2009, an increase of 23.6 per cent from the 2008 estimate of £93.1bn. The Wholesale sector dominated website sales with sales valued at £48.2bn. The Transport and Storage sector also showed significant website sales, estimated at £14.1bn. Sales over non-website ICTs (such as non-web EDI) of £293.3bn represented 12.0 per cent of the value of all sales of non-financial businesses. The manufacturing sector reported the largest sales over ICTs other than a website at £117.2bn.

If anyone can find a more recent official survey on trends and spends, I'd love to hear from you, or please consider sharing a link.