According to this, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the UK could be missing out on GBP 77 billion in annual revenue by not having mobile-optimised websites.

"45% of UK SMEs do not have a website, yet believe their annual revenue could rise by 5.4% if they had a website that was optimised for mobile transactions, equating to an average of GBP 11,155 extra turnover annually. A further 45% of UK SMEs have a website that is not optimised for mobile. These businesses believe their annual revenues could rise by 3.5% if their website was optimised for mobile transactions, equating to an average of GBP 23,793 extra turnover annually."

"SMEs recognise the importance of mobile optimisation, and know its value is growing. Respondents predicted that mobile online transactions will have the greatest percentage annual growth across all sales channels in 2014, exceeding GBP 29 billion - a 1050% increase over 2013. In the UK, access to the Internet using a mobile phone more than doubled between 2010 and 2013, from 24% to 53%."

"Whilst SME decision-makers recognise that mobile is growing, few are taking immediate action. Only 10% of those surveyed currently have mobile-optimised websites, and of those that do not, only 13% plan to get one in the next 12-18 months."

• 1981 Thomson Holidays submits the first ever B2B electronic transaction using online technology
• 1987 Swreg creates the first merchant account to allow software developers to sell online
• 1991 The National Science Foundation lifts restrictions off the commercial use of the NET, clearing the way for ecommerce
• 1994 Pizza Hut has the first recorded internet sale
• 1995 The Dot-Com bubble serges with companies such as e-bay, Google, Craigslist, Amazon and Netscape
• 2000 The Dot-Com bust
• 2003 Social networks surface and Amazon has its first profitable year
• 2010 Ecommerce continues to evolve with mobile commerce, social commerce and group buying

[Via: Shopping Cart Reviews]

Payvision has published a report titled “Cross-Border eCommerce in Asian Markets: Singapore and Malaysia“.

"More than 40% of the global internet audience is from the Asia Pacific region. This boils down to over 600 million people, 10% of whom live in Southeast Asia. With 60 million people browsing the web, this is a significant market for e-commerce businesses. Singapore and Malaysia are the two countries in the region with the highest internet penetration. Singapore and Malaysia represent the largest e-commerce industries of Southeast Asia. According to Euromonitor, these two countries generate almost half of total online retail sales in this region, even though Malaysia and Singapore only account for 8% of the Southeast Asian population. Both countries are expected to show double digit growth over the next years."

USA is the top overseas online shopping destination for both Singaporeans and Malaysians

USA is also the top online selling destination for merchants in both Singapore and Malaysia

"The e-commerce markets in Singapore and Malaysia are relatively small compared to other Asian markets such as China (US$190 Bn) and Japan (US$64 Bn). However both Singapore and Malaysia stand out with respect to the relative size of the cross-border share of the e-commerce market. An estimated 55% of all e-commerce transactions in Singapore are cross-border. This percentage is much higher than in Japan, South Korea and even China doesn’t score that high. In Malaysia roughly 40% of all e-commerce transactions are cross-border; American and Chinese web shops are very popular amongst Malaysian consumers." "Although the e-commerce market enjoys tremendous growth in both Singapore and Malaysia, cross-border e-commerce still faces some barriers. The most important barrier for cross-border e-commerce is logistics, more specifically shipping cross-border, because it involves compliance with a set of (complex) rules and regulations. Another hurdle that consumers face when shopping cross-border is the security of payments. Moreover, the cultural differences of consumers across the Southeast Asian countries require a differentiated marketing approach and the availability of websites in local language and local payment methods. Shipping is very expensive in Southeast Asia. The prices are high, because the market for shipping is still relatively small. On average, Singaporeans receive two parcels per year whereas German e-shoppers receive an average of 30 parcels per year."

"The Travel industry is the largest e-commerce sector in both Singapore and Malaysia.More than half of all online transactions consist of travel related products and services. The online travel market is booming throughout Southeast Asia and global travel market research company PhoCusWright estimates it to be US$ 90.8 billion in 2013. This equals 25% of the total travel market in Southeast Asia. Furthermore, around 93% of the tickets of AirAsia are sold through their online channel. As a consequence, a large share of the online travel market consists of cross-border e-commerce."

   

"In both countries, most cross-border transactions are paid by Credit Card. 65% of the combined transaction value of all personal credit cards in Singapore are operated by Visa, while in Malaysia, Master Card is the major operator with a market share of 55%."

"Singapore has favorable rules and regulations, which stimulate profitable cross-border trade. Customs and tax procedures are straightforward and corruption is at a global record low. Items valued below US$ 320 are shipped duty-free. This stimulates cross-border e-retail shopping. The duty-free limit in Malaysia is half of the limit imposed in Singapore (US$ 160). In Malaysia, tax regulations imposed on importing goods are more stringent and rules and regulations are rather complex. Malaysia applies different procedures and tax, depending on the various product categories."

"The launch of an ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) is planned for 2015. It is an initiative to facilitate a coherent duty and import tax system throughout Southeast Asia and to enhance cross-border trade."

Source of graphics: e27.co

According to this, on March 6 2014, IMRG, Bond Dickinson, HÄRTING Rechtsanwälte and Bühlmann Attorneys at Law Ltd will host a legal forum in Central London to look in detail at what the coming into force of the European Consumer Rights Directive and its implementation means for cross-border e-commerce between the Switzerland, the UK and Germany.

According to this, e-commerce revenue in Argentina, Brazil and Mexico are expected to grow by 135% collectively, from USD 20 billion to USD 47 billion by 2018.

"In Brazil, more consumers from lower income groups have begun to be comfortable shopping online. There were over 40 million online shoppers in Brazil in 2013, with the number topping 50 million by the end of 2013."

"Cross-border online shopping was popular in Brazil, which stimulates cross-border e-commerce business and brings more opportunities for the B2B e-commerce market. And the World Cup has really provided a boost to the Brazilian e-commerce segment, with a 27% increase in 2014 in relation to 2013 figures."

"The globalisation of markets, growing interpenetration of economies, rapid technological change, volatility of demand, wider variety of products available, faster delivery, quicker product development and low cost manufacturing indicate a new type of competitive environment."