Guaranteed Irish has announced the launch of a collaborative initiative to enable Irish based SMEs and retailers to enhance their digital capability.
The new initiative in partnership with leading tech firms Magico, IE Domain Registry, Blacknight and eShopWorld offers Guaranteed Irish member businesses the opportunity to avail of a full website consultation service and ecommerce review for all member SMEs and large-scale enterprises based in Ireland, the group said.
The initiative comes as the Government expands the Trading Online Voucher Scheme by €14.2 million as part of its ongoing COVID-19 response following unprecedented demand for the Scheme, it added.
"This global pandemic has forced businesses that have procrastinated about e-commerce to go online to survive," said Brid O’Connell CEO, Guaranteed Irish.
"Guaranteed Irish is encouraging all members to continue to trade and to reach out to other businesses and support services to help them engage online."
The group said that it received three years’ worth of applications received in just three months from mid-March to June this year.
Irish consumers have grown accustomed to the accessibility and convenience of ecommerce services offered by global corporate firms and expect the same shopping experience from their local businesses, according to IE Domain Registry, the national registry for .ie domain names.
Online Presence
Commenting on the partnership, Paul Montwill Managing Director, Magico said, "While traditional high-street retail activity will experience a significant downturn in 2020, online sales in Ireland will surpass all previous records this year as businesses and consumers look online to sell and buy products."
Montwill noted that the ongoing enforcement of social distancing measures on high streets across Ireland will lead to a surge in businesses looking to boost their online presence in the months leading up to Christmas.
"Online sales technology is becoming more affordable and easier to implement whilst the benefits of remote working technology have been brought to the fore like never before," he added.
Research shows that there was 255,944 registered .ie domains recorded in Ireland last year.
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