More than a quarter of Irish-based businesses sell their wares online while nearly half make purchases online, according to a new survey by the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
The agency’s latest “Information Society Statistics – Enterprises 2022″ survey assessed the extent of digitalisation among Irish firms.
It found that medium-sized enterprises (50-250 staff) had the largest percentages of businesses with online sales at 54 per cent compared with 51 per cent of large enterprises (250 or more staff) and 41 per cent of small enterprises (10-49 staff).
One in five (20 per cent) large enterprises reported using some type of robot (either industrial or service) compared with 8 per cent of medium enterprises and 2 per cent of small enterprises.
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The survey found that 15 per cent of enterprises experienced an increase in sales via websites or apps due to the pandemic this year, compared with 19 per cent in 2021.
Similarly almost a quarter (24 per cent) of businesses here increased their use of social media, down from 31 per cent who increased theirs in 2021.
“These decreases may reflect the lifting of pandemic-related restrictions and the widespread adoption of digital technology that had already occurred prior to 2022,” the CSO said.
Nearly all enterprises (97 per cent) have broadband internet access, the survey indicated. Many of these enterprises use the internet to conduct remote meetings (64 per cent) and provide remote access to email (77 per cent), documents (63 per cent), and business software (81 per cent).
However, the CSO noted that differences emerged depending on the size of the enterprise. The proportion of small enterprises conducting remote meeting was 58 per cent compared with 97 per cent of large enterprises.
Almost three-quarters (74 per cent) of small businesses provided remote access to email compared with 97 per cent of large enterprises, access to documents was 58 per cent compared with 93 per cent, and access to business software was 78 per cent compared with 97 per cent.
The survey also assessed environmental concern and awareness among Irish businesses, with more than half of enterprises (56 per cent) considering the environmental impact when selecting information and communications technology (ICT) services and equipment.
More than four in 10 (44 per cent) enterprises applied measures to reduce paper, while one in five (20 per cent) applied measures to reduce energy. More than half (56 per cent) of enterprises said they consider the environmental impact when selecting ICT services.
