SMEs benefited from drop in pound, PayPal data shows

Small and medium-sized businesses benefitted from the drop in the pound in 2016, according to data from PayPal.

The online payments company revealed that UK SMEs saw a 10 per cent year-on-year increase in their international sales from January to June last year, whilst the rate of growth increased to 34 per cent from July to December.

Increase

Whilst British businesses as a whole saw an increase in online sales to international shoppers, SMEs saw the biggest increase, with a rise of 13 per cent per transaction from July to December in 2016.

More SMEs in the UK started selling online products to a different country between July and December last year, with PayPal’s data showing the top online export markets for British SMEs.

The US was revealed to be the top online export market between July and December, followed by Germany, Australia, France and Italy, with customers from these countries being found to be particularly attracted to fashion and sports products.

UK SMEs selling online products from these categories experienced the highest growth in sales, with a rise of 49 per cent year-on-year.

Surge

PayPal UK Managing Director Mark Brant commented: “When the pound dropped and the buying power of international shoppers increased, we expected to see a surge in online exports. Of course lower prices played a major part in boosting international sales, but there were many other contributing factors. The small businesses that were best placed to benefit from the influx of international shoppers were the ones who had already adapted their online stores – for example by letting customers browse in their own language, and pay in their own currency.”