Mastercard: the number of SMBs going online tripled after the pandemic

The rate of existing businesses expanding into digital for the first time has persisted at an elevated level globally

ecommerce e-commerce mastercard report — Foto: Anete Lūsiņa/Unsplash

11.Oct.2021 15:40 BRT
UPDATED 16:18 BRT

With the global health crisis caused by COVID-19, small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) went through various types of difficulties. To survive, many of the SMBs invested on digital, to take their operations to online platforms and e-commerces. The number of SMBs going online tripled between pre-pandemic and 2021.

In Brazil, for instance, the number of existing businesses that made the shift online for the first time in 2020 vs. 2019 grew 208%, according to a report published by Mastercard last Friday (8).

“In July 2020, the number of existing businesses that made the shift online for the first time tripled compared to the typical pre-pandemic level-reflecting increased demand by SMBs for an online sales channel, as well as the slight lag after lockdowns began to bring it into reality. The rate of existing businesses expanding into digital for the first time has persisted at an elevated level globally ever since” explains the payment company’s report.

Data came from the survey Recovery Insights: Small Business Reset, developed by the Mastercard Economics Institute. The report focuses on small and medium-sized companies, which represent 90% businesses and more than half of jobs around the world. The report combines information from the network of companies connected with the brand as well as third-party databases.

One of the digitalization tests carried out by the brand took into account the impact of having an e-commerce impacted sales during the pandemic revealed that SMEs that managed to migrate to digital did better in sales and in attracting consumers when compared to offline businesses.

The analysis also reveals that 34% of purchases made incrementally in e-commerces would not have taken place in traditional brick and mortar establishments.

According to the credit cards operator, total sales of SMEs (small and medium-sized companies) increased 4.5% from the beginning of the year to August, compared to the same time period last year. On the other hand, sales in e-commerce had a jump of 31.4% in the period.