This paper explores how small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) can benefit from improving their web operations. It encourages SMEs to adopt e-commerce enabled websites and utilize different web design elements. It explains the importance of SMEs to the Canadian economy and the implication of not improving their web operations. It outlines how consumer behaviour has changed and how online shopping preferences have grown in Canada. This information is used to explain how the growth of e-commerce and merchants such as Amazon have disrupted the retail industry and pose a threat to SMEs. This paper then identifies how SMEs can mitigate this threat by adopting a customer first strategy that fulfills customer needs. This may require SMEs to adopt solutions and web design elements that deliver a superior web or customer experience. The objective of this research paper is to help SMEs improve their web operations. The first section will explain the importance of web design in e-commerce.

The second section will outline a simple set of recommendations that be can be adopted by SMEs with and without a website. If SMEs can improve their web design to meet the evolving needs of consumers, SMEs can mitigate the digital disruption of retail and contribute further to the Canadian economy.

Keywords: SMEs, e-commerce, web design, web experience, customer experience

Introduction

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In Canada, retail e-commerce sales continues to grow year over year (Statistics Canada, 2018). This growth is largely driven by an increase in consumer spending (Forrester Research, 2018) and a shift consumer behaviour (Canada Post, 2016). The growth of e- commerce presents a unique opportunity for SMEs. It may allow them to reach new consumers online and in new markets (Gessner & Snodgrass, 2015). However very few SMEs have taken advantage of this opportunity to date (Gessner & Snodgrass, 2015). Surprisingly very few SMEs have an interest in adopting e-commerce capabilities or creating a website (PayPal, 2017). These findings are troubling for a few reasons. The failure of SMEs to adopt websites and e-commerce capabilities can impact their growth and have economic implications. Most importantly SMEs may be left behind as consumer shopping behaviour shifts online in favour of e-commerce merchants. The disruption of the retail landscape by e-commerce merchants such as Amazon has been well documented (D’Agostino, 2018). It is important for SMEs to digitize their operations. SME should adopt websites with e-commerce capabilities and utilizing web design best practices to improve the web experience or they risk being left behind. Definitions

The term SMEs is an acronym that refers to small and medium size enter