More than 36% of retailers think that leaving the EU at the end of this month will have mostly negative effects on their business over the next five years, compared to 25% that think it will be mostly positive according to new research.
They include 31.9 per cent who are expecting more negative than positive impacts and 4.3 per cent who anticipate strongly negative consequences.
However, at the same time, over 25% think Brexit will either be very beneficial (12.6%) or will bring more positive than negative results (12.8%). 38.3% think that the balance will be neither positive nor negative.
These findings are the results of a survey of retailers carried out in November and December by IRX, the leading e-commerce Expo, digital marketing event and retail conference. Retailers were asked: ‘Assuming that the UK’s Withdrawal from the EU goes ahead on 31 January, what is your current view of how this will impact on your business overall in the next 5 years?’
Stuart Barker, Portfolio Director for IRX says, “Now we know the UK is definitely withdrawing, retailers are directing their attention towards how to turn this change into an opportunity. Fortunately, the fundamental international nature of e-commerce means that the industry is well placed to thrive in the post-Brexit trading environment.”
Retailers looking to expand globally post Brexit and improve their online sales in 2020 and beyond should visit IRX, incorporating eDX, on 1 & 2 April 2020 at the NEC, Birmingham.
Under the theme of ‘Growth and Cross-Border’ the conference will provide particularly valuable insights on expanding internationally. Among the sessions are ‘Seizing the cross-border opportunity: creating a successful strategy for expanding overseas,’ ‘How local do you go? Creating a truly targeted international offering,’ and ‘The journey to growth: identifying which markets offer the best growth potential.’
