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Small Business Research Board Construction and Contracting eCommerce Study: Construction, Contracting Companies Lag In Commitment to Internet: 57% of

NORTHFIELD, Ill. (BusinessWire EON) September 13, 2007 -- The study co-sponsored by Business Today Magazine disclosed that 57% of the small construction and contracting firms participating in the study do not have websites. Furthermore, the poll also indicated that the construction and contracting industry will continue to trail other industries with fewer than 14% projecting sales resulting from their eCommerce efforts will increase during the next 12 to 24 months.

As a contrast, of the small businesses involved in manufacturing, fewer than 33% did not have a website. With 67% of the manufacturing companies having websites, manufacturers led all segments.

Of the construction and contracting firms participating in the poll, 34.2% did say they had at least one website with the remaining 8.8% of the respondents having between two and ten websites.

Nationally, 42.7% of the respondents said they did not have a website while 47.3% said they had one website. Another 9.1% said they had between two and ten websites and .9% said they had more than ten websites.

Additionally, 56.1% of the small businesses with websites said they sell products and services on a company-owned site. Half of the construction and contracting firms with websites said they sell products or services on their sites.

The study showed that 93.6% of the construction and contracting firms believe revenue generated from their Internet sites will increase or remain the same during the next 12 to 24 months. Of that total, 13.9% believe the revenue will increase.

Small retailers were the most optimistic, 96.6% projecting eCommerce revenues will remain the same or increase. However, 39.8% of that total said they are projecting revenue increases.

Nationally, 96.7% said they expect Internet revenues to increase or stay the same during the next 12 to 24 months, with 29.2% predicting increases.

Owners and managers of more than 550 small businesses representing numerous industries responded to the nationwide SBRB / Business Today study.

The SBRB / Business Today report provides specific detail by size of business, by industry, by region (and in some instances by state) the various experiences each segment has had with the Internet and their commitment to offer products and services through eCommerce transactions.

The study, for instance, breaks out information by size of business and industry on the number of firms with websites, the number of websites they have, the percentage of their product line available on their sites and percentage of business revenue derived from eCommerce.

Overall, the study also found that:

-- Of construction and contracting businesses with websites, 46.8% said they have one site and 8.6% have more than two sites.

-- Among only those construction and contracting businesses with websites, 50% said none of their products or services can be purchased on their websites while 32.3% said up to 25% of their products or services could be purchased on line.

-- Again, relating to construction and contracting companies with Internet sites, 29.4% said they generated up to 25% of their company's revenue from eCommerce in 2006, another 8.8% generated from 26% to 99% of their revenue from Internet sales and 5.9% generated 100% of their revenue exclusively from the net.

The SBRB / Business Today Small Business eCommerce Study is believed to be among the most comprehensive efforts recently undertaken to understand eCommerce and the reality of its impact on small businesses. The resulting information thus provides both a snapshot on current attitudes and realizations among small business owners as well as establishes benchmarks.

Among the questions asked were:

-- How many websites does your company own?

-- On how many of these websites do you sell products / conduct transactions?

-- What percentage of your product line can be purchased on your Internet site?

-- How much of your sales were transacted on your Internet site(s) last year?

-- Over the next 12 to 24 months do you expect your Internet sales to increase, decrease or remain the same?

Poll participants also were asked to provide information on the percentage of products and services that could be purchased on their websites five years ago as well as the correlating percentage of sales that were derived. This data contributed to helping establish trends and historical benchmarks.

The study provides data for the all participants and also delineates data pertaining to only those businesses which have Internet sites.

Data is included for such industries as manufacturing, construction and contracting, retail, food and beverage, distribution and wholesaling, transportation and automotive.

Business Today Magazine is dedicated to serving the information needs of owners and managers of small businesses. The primary goals of the quarterly publication based in Buffalo Grove, Il. are to inform and educate its readers by providing timely, useful information that will help readers both contend with the daily demands of running their businesses as well as provide insight on achieving long term growth.

The Small Business Research Board ascertains and reports the opinions of small business owners and managers on a wide variety of topics related to their own businesses as well as national and international issues that may impact their operations. The SBRB conducts these studies for the benefit of small business owners and managers. The SBRB also provides opportunities for third parties to gain real time insight into the attitudes of small businesses nationwide through the independently conducted research.

The latest information about the Small Business Research Board can be found at www.biznus.net.

Small Business Research Board / Business Today

Selected Results of National eCommerce Study

-- September 2007

                                        All US       Construction &

                                                        Contracting

Percentage of small businesses owning websites

none                                     42.7              57.0

1                                        47.3              34.2

2-plus                                   10.0              8.8

Of companies with Internet sites, number of sites selling products,

 services

none                                     43.9              50.0

1                                        44.8              38.2

2- plus                                  11.3              11.8

Internet revenue expectations next 12 to 24 months

increase                                 29.2              13.9

remain the same                          67.5              79.7

decrease                                 3.3               6.3

Small Business Research Board / Business Today eCommerce Selected Results

(C) 2007 Small Business Research Board

NOTE TO EDITORS: This article is the sixth of a series on the study of small business, the Internet and eCommerce by the Small Business Research Board.

The first two in the series were "Nearly 30% of Small Businesses Expect Internet Sales to Increase Next 12 - 24 Months According to Latest SBRB Study" and "Largest of Small Businesses, Smallest of Small Businesses Most Optimistic About Revenue Growth Generated from eCommerce; Owners, Managers Project 12 - 24 Month Sales Increases."

"Small Businesses in Northeast, Midwest Most Optimistic About Revenue Growth Generated from eCommerce Sales Next 12 - 24 Months" was the third and the fourth and fifth in the series were "Small Businesses in New York More Involved, Slightly More Bullish on Internet Than Other Northeast States According to SBRB Study" and "Fewer than Half of California Small Businesses Have Websites According to latest SBRB Study."

Additional releases will be issued about other industries, among them manufacturing, retailing, food and beverage, distribution and wholesaling, automotive and transportation.

For more information about this poll, copies of the complete study and the results of previous studies or other matters related to the Small Business Research Board, please contact Raymond D. Minkus, (847) 441-4192.

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