Casting a Wide Net: Online Activities of Small and New Businesses in the United States
Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation Research Paper
24 Pages Posted: 21 Oct 2011
Date Written: October 1, 2011
Abstract
Businesses, particularly new businesses, are using the web in diverse ways as they pursue their commercial activities. While newly released data shows overall incidence of a reported website among the population of U.S. businesses was only about a quarter in 2007, young businesses in 2007 were more likely than not to have a website. Using a variety of sources, we expand on the industries and types of business owners that are more likely to report use of websites, email, and online sales. Most of the industry-level trends appeared similar, with firms in manufacturing, Wholesale Trade, Professional Services, Retail Trade, Financial Services, and Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation tending to have higher proclivities for website use and email but with Professional Services and Financial Services having lower levels of reported Internet sales. Online sales were reported by 6 percent of all U.S. businesses in 2007, compared with more than a quarter of young firms. Additionally, among online sellers, young firms were about twice as likely to generate more than 50 percent of revenues online. In examining differential outcomes from online activities, our analysis shows having a business website had the earliest and most long-lasting effects among startups.
Seventh in a series of reports using data from the Kauffman Firm Survey.
Keywords: new business, website, Internet, sales, technology, online, Kauffman firm survey, KFS, young firms, new businesses
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