Connected Small Businesses 2017

This report is the third from Deloitte Access Economics in the Connected Small Businesses series for Google on the use and benefits of digital tools in Australia’s SMB sector. These reports have found that Australian SMBs are becoming more digitally engaged over time, and have also explored the financial and other business returns to more advanced levels of digital engagement.

The report finds that SMB take-up of digital tools has been accelerating over time. In 2017, the share of SMBs with basic digital engagement has fallen to 11%. This is 12 percentage points below the 23% estimated just 12 months ago, compared with a the same fall over the prior 3 years. For the first time, half of SMBs were found to have high or advanced levels of digital engagement.

This year, the analysis is based on a national survey of over 1,500 SMBs and presents a deeper dive into the factors driving a SMB’s digital engagement – including region, industry and characteristics of the business owner.

Published: October 2017

Connected Small Businesses 2016

This report provides updated insights on the use and benefits of digital tools in Australia’s SMB sector – a sector which generates significant economic activity. SMBs contributed $608 billion to the economy in 2014-15, representing over half of private sector economic activity. Australian SMBs also employed over 7.2 million workers in 2014-15, more than two-thirds of private sector employment.

Based on a national survey of over 600 Australian SMBs, the 2016 report again looks at levels of digital engagement, such as through SMB use of social media, e-commerce, websites, online marketing tools and data analytics. The level of business engagement was then compared with performance metrics such as revenue growth, job creation, exports and innovation in order to identify relationships between digital engagement and business performance.

Connected Small Businesses 2013

This report provides insight into the role of digital strategies in Australia’s substantial small and medium-size business sector — a sector that contributed $530 billion to the economy in 2010-11, over half of private sector economic activity, and employed over seven million people, generating more than two thirds of private sector employment.

A national survey of 500 small businesses measured their level of digital engagement, such as having a website with business information or the use of digital marketing to attract customers.