Irish businesses are at risk of falling behind European counterparts in terms of innovation, payments company SumUp has found in a survey of companies in Ireland, France, Germany, Italy and the UK.
A quarter (25.5%) of Irish businesses said they had made no key changes to their operations beyond raising their prices in the past 12 months despite the current state of the economy having a negative impact on 38% of firms.
Although 37.2% of respondents believe that customers have become increasingly price-conscious, 29.7% of Irish firms feel somewhat optimistic about their business continuing to grow over the next 12 to 24 months, beaten only by Italy (29.9%)
Around 44.6% of Irish merchants reported that their customers have reduced their overall spending or are purchasing less frequently.
A third (32.6%) of business owners in Ireland have been affected by rising delivery and material costs, with 16% noting that their delivery times have become longer.
In response, more than half (52.2%) of Irish businesses have moderately increased prices over the past 12 months, a higher proportion than in Germany (46.8%), the UK (43.2%), and France (40.9%).
The survey received 944 respondents from 6-13 May, including 150 in France, 238 in Germany, 200 in Britain, 174 in Italy and 182 in Ireland.
“Innovation is now more important than ever. In the current economic climate, where merchants cannot rely on traditional means of growing their business, they must find new avenues to explore," said Niall Mac an tSionnaigh, CEO of SumUp Ltd.
"New technological advances offer several ways to get creative in dealing with changing economic and customer behaviour landscapes.
"We believe that providing innovative solutions for businesses is critical in helping them manage times of economic stress, allowing them to focus on business growth and continuing to offer their customers the best services possible.
"Finding smart ways to make businesses grow is imperative, and at SumUp, we’re here to support that."
SumUp is now used by over 4m small merchants in 36 markets, and the company recently launched its online appointment booking process, SumUp Bookings, in Ireland.
SumUp now handles more than 1bn transactions per year.
(Pic: Getty Images)
