According to the report ‘Non-cash payments in Polish SMEs’, more than half of Polish micro, small and medium-sized companies in the trade and services sector send e-invoices and use e-signatures.  Approx. 37 % use the cloud for data storage, 32 % sell online and 15.6 % have a chatbot.

In a survey conducted by the Institute for Market and Social Research (IBRiS), sending e-invoices is the most common solution to increase the level of digitalisation in almost two-thirds of SMEs in the trade and services sector. Almost 54 % of respondents mentioned electronic contract signing and e-signatures. Almost 37 % use the cloud for data storage and 32 % sell products online. 15.6 % of companies have a chatbot on their website or social media profile.

At the other extreme, more than 73 % of SMEs in the retail and services sector have no plans to digitise any areas in the coming months. The most common reason declared by entrepreneurs for this decision is the fact that they do not need it (almost 60 %) or their business is too small (27 %). Among all the surveyed industries, those most interested in automation are representatives of professional, scientific or technical activities, e.g. lawyers, architects (30 %).

The report states that almost 55 % of Polish SMEs involved in trade and services visit websites related to modern technologies to learn about digitisation or available tools, while 48 % of entrepreneurs gain knowledge from the websites of companies that offer digitisation-related services. It is also popular to suggest recommendations from friends (43 %).

Webinars and training courses are used by 33 %, and more than 30 % observe competitors or follow profiles on the subject in social media. 12.5 % of respondents do not look for information on digitalisation or automation at all.

Arkadiusz Słomczyński