UK small businesses reveal postal cost concerns
A third of UK small businesses believe high postage and logistics costs could stunt their growth in the coming year, a new survey has revealed.
The YouGov survey, carried out on behalf of eBay UK, showed that 31% of small companies believe postage and delivery logistics costs are preventing expansion.
Furthermore, 75% of firms revealed that high overseas shipping costs are diverting their attentions away from other countries as they do not believe selling there is financially viable.
This is potentially losing customers in these regions as well as hindering growth, although it does provide a boost for the UK market.
Reducing postage costs is seen as a key factor in aiding SME efforts to expand while work to improve the UK’s logistical network could also be beneficial.
Described as the engine of the UK economy, the UK’s five million SMEs already sell many goods internationally but many firms feel they could do more if costs were lower.
One method of driving sales is to subsidise the postage on UK or international orders so as to drive custom, but this can impact negatively on the bottom line.
Finances are required to remain competitive in overseas markets but this could be costing SMEs if they do not meet sales targets.
This could place additional financial strain on the companies concerned and a failure to deal with the situation could result in difficulties in the long term.
In instances where financial losses are occurring, seeking insolvency advice is recommended as it may provide an opportunity to streamline a business or to remove underperforming areas.
Taking such actions can help to guarantee the longevity of a company and to ensure that finances are being used in areas where they can be most beneficial.
Firms in the study also revealed that they would like the Government to tackle several other issues when campaigning ahead of the general election.
Lowering business taxes, investment into faster broadband services and improvements to postal and delivery services were all high on the agenda for small firms.
By Phil Smith