Nearly Half of Canadian Small Business Owners Attribute Growth to New Digital Tools: GoDaddy Survey

New survey finds over 40 per cent of small business owners made ecommerce-specific adaptations in the past two years, including improving online tools, creating new websites and social media accounts, and increasing online business offerings.

TORONTO, June 28, 2022 /CNW/ - Today, GoDaddy Inc. (NYSE: GDDY), the company that empowers everyday entrepreneurs, released data from a new survey that reflects the outlook of small business owners more than two years after the COVID-19 pandemic began. As a follow- up to a 2020 survey, the new GoDaddy survey revealed that more than two-thirds of small businesses made changes to their online presence during the pandemic, and more than 40 per cent credit the growth of their business to new ecommerce solutions.

Following two years of unpredictable restrictions, optimism is now stronger than ever among small business owners who see value in digital tools and maintaining an online presence, according to the new study conducted by Logit Group on behalf of GoDaddy Canada. Business growth is the leading reason for optimism among all survey respondents, but is most prominent among the small business segment, with 42 per cent of those who employ five to nine people reporting confidence in the future of their business.

For many, the digital adaptations of the last two years, including improvements to online tools and social media accounts, are here to stay: 41 per cent of respondents said they will continue to maintain their online presence, an increase from 37 per cent in 2020. Only 12 per cent said they intend to return to their pre-pandemic business plans and processes.

"The pandemic spurred significant growth in the use of digital tools among small businesses, and our new survey shows that having an online presence has helped many small businesses thrive," said Anne De Aragon, Vice President and Country Manager, GoDaddy Canada. "These results reinforce how critical it is for small businesses to use the digital tools at their disposal to help them continue to grow, which is why GoDaddy is focused on providing small businesses with the right online tools and training, including ecommerce solutions."

To supplement these findings, GoDaddy undertook similar surveys of its GoDaddy customers in Canada, Australia, and the U.K. Some key findings of this targeted research include:

• Close to 50 per cent of businesses have been highly impacted due to COVID-19 across all markets.
• More than one-third of businesses are most optimistic about business growth over the next 12 months. Other areas fueling optimism include expansion of online presence, and expansion of products and services.
• 30 per cent of small business owners in Canada are raising prices of products and services in response to inflation.
• Two-thirds of small businesses said they have faced supplier-related issues in the past two years (supply-chain shortages were also identified as a challenge in GoDaddy's 2020 survey).
• Perceived cost is cited as the main challenge to adopting an online presence (37 per cent), while many also reported that they felt they lacked the familiarity or knowledge about the digitalization process (23 per cent). Understanding these perceived challenges allows digital tool providers like GoDaddy to provide tailored training and insights that can empower entrepreneurs to identify the best tools to strengthen their businesses, and take advantage of the positive impact an online presence can have on business growth. 

With its full suite of ecommerce solutions for small businesses, GoDaddy aims to empower everyday entrepreneurs, turning optimism into tangible business results.

To learn more about GoDaddy's ecommerce solutions, visit GoDaddy.ca.

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GoDaddy is empowering everyday entrepreneurs around the world by providing all of the help and tools to succeed online. GoDaddy is the place people come to name their idea, build a professional website, attract customers, sell their products and services and manage their work. Our mission is to give our customers the tools, insights and the people to transform their ideas and personal initiative into success. To learn more about the company, visit GoDaddy.ca

The survey, commissioned by Logit Group, was sourced from a random sample of Canadian small and medium businesses. To be eligible, respondents had to be a business owner or self-employed, and their business must have 1 to 99 employees (56 per cent of survey respondents were microbusinesses with 4 or less employees). The online survey was in market for approximately two weeks in May 2022 (two years after the initial survey in May 2020) with a result accuracy within +/- 4.4 per cent. 

GoDaddy undertook a similar survey of GoDaddy customers in Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom to understand the impact of the pandemic on small businesses and the actions taken throughout the last two years. The online survey was in market for approximately 10 days in June 2022.

SOURCE GoDaddy