Small Merchants Focus on Digital to Capture Sales From Enterprise Rivals

Small to mid-sized businesses (SMBs) are sometimes portrayed as the underdogs in a fight against larger companies to win customers. It is said that the Amazons and Walmarts of the world have the upper hand, while mom-and-pop stores on the corner have just a slim chance of driving sales.

As with most things, however, the truth is more complex than that. Data shows that the quality of a consumer’s shopping journey is less about the size of the business and more about the number and variety of digital shopping features merchants offer.

The question is which digital features SMBs must provide to level the playing field.

The “2023 Global Digital Shopping Index,” a collaboration with Cybersource, is the third-annual study of consumers and merchants in six countries examining the frictions consumers experience when shopping and making payments. The SMB Edition: How Digital Can Help SMBs Punch Above Their Weight examines the four key reasons smaller merchants fall behind their larger competitors in turning browsers into buyers at their physical and virtual storefronts.

Key findings from our research include the following.

Consumers are less likely to buy from small merchants because they lack valued digital conveniences. Small merchants offer fewer digital features than their larger competitors – seven fewer, on average. Moreover, SMBs are less likely to offer the features consumers value most, such as mobile apps and mobile-optimized sites.

Most SMB customers shop in-store and want digital features to make their shopping journeys smoother and easier. Seventy percent of all SMB customers across the six countries we studied completed their most recent purchases at a brick-and-mortar store.

Small merchants see a competitive opportunity in the pickup economy and prioritize buy online, pick up in-store capabilities. Twenty-seven percent of SMBs in our study intend to adopt curbside or pickup options in the next three years, and 23% plan to adopt in-store kiosks where eCommerce shoppers can acquire their purchases as the adoption of BOPIS options surges.

These are only a few of the insights we uncovered about the state of the global SMB sector in our research. The “2023 Global Digital Shopping Index: How Digital Can Help SMBs Punch Above Their Weight” explores the latest on how SMB shoppers use digital channels and features throughout their retail journeys.

To learn more about the critical role of innovating digital shopping features in driving SMB success, download the report.