More small businesses embracing e-commerce

You may already have had your fill of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. But what about "SmallBusiness Saturday." That initiative, begun several years ago, is meant to garner support for localsmall businesses during the holiday shopping season, especially on the Saturday followingThanksgiving.

Small businesses are of course an essential part of the nation's economic engine, and an importantindicator of America's financial health. And while many small businesses suffered during the GreatRecession, a growing number are picking up customers from what just a few years ago would havebeen considered an unlikely source: the Internet.

According to a report by Duda, a California-based "DIY" website-building group for web professionaland small business, nearly one-third of 440 small business owners surveyed at companies across theU.S. expect at least 25 percent of their holiday sales this year to take place online. And 14 percent ofthe respondents say that more than half of their holiday revenue comes from their websites.

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"I think the general sentiment out there is that consumers generally shop on Amazon (AMZN) andbig corporate websites," said Duda co-founder and CEO Itai Sadan. "But the fact is that smallbusinesses expect such a large portion of their revenue to come from online means that... [they]have to prepare for that, and make sure that they're providing those consumers with a great onlineexperience."

Sadan says the adoption of e-commerce by small businesses has been gradual. Many enterpriseshave embraced the web only over the past five to eight years, as firms become more familiar withonline technologies and as the spread of smartphones fueled the growth of mobile commerce.

After all, many of these small businesses are themselves technology consumers, using Facebook,Twitter and other social media outlets to get their message out to potential customers. Thetechnologies needed for a business to have an online presence have also become much more user-friendly, and an in-depth business website can now be set up in a matter of hours.

And it's not just a matter of younger, more tech-savvy small business owners getting their businessonline.

"It's happening across the board," Sadan notesd, with many small companies figuring out how tomake technology that once seemed like a direct threat to brick-and-mortar businesses work forthem.

"For example, adding a Facebook 'like' status next to a product so a person who's seen a productthat they like can share it on Facebook with their friends and family," Sadan said. "These types ofthings are extremely important."

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Many small businesses are also turning to technology to extend their reach during the vital holidayshopping period, such as by offering customized seasonal coupons.

"Small businesses simply can't afford to ignore the online world anymore," Matt Schulz, seniorindustry analyst at Creditcard.com, told CBS MoneyWatch. "But whether online shopping ultimatelyhurts or helps your business depends on a lot of factors -- perhaps most importantly, what you'reselling."

Schulz gives the example of a small, family-owned art gallery in a tourist town. While that gallerymay have ample walk-up traffic during peak tourist seasons, "a well-made, easy-to-use website canattract sales from all around the world, allowing the gallery to generate sales far beyond what wouldbe possible with just in-person sales," he said.

Schulz advises small businesses to look at online shopping as an opportunity, rather than somethingto fear. "After all," he noted, "the reality is that it's only going to become more common as yearspass, and businesses that choose not to adjust are doing so at their peril."

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