Why is it that in the Grand Duchy only 7% of SMBs are active in e-commerce? And why is it that 75% of Internet transactions do not get past the final stage of payment and hence are not converted into purchases?
These were just two of the many questions raised on 1 March, at the major conference on e-commerce organised by the Chamber of Commerce in collaboration with Digital Lëtzebuerg and the House of Training. Facing a packed audience, a group of managers from varied backgrounds spoke on the subject, each viewing the subject from a different angle.
In his contribution, Director of the Chamber of Commerce Carlo Thelen spoke more particularly about the sometimes radical changes that face both producers and consumers as the digital aspect becomes increasingly present in our everyday lives.
Prime Minister Xavier Bettel said that, although much had been done in recent years, particularly in the field of infrastructures, there was still a long way to go, particularly with regard to introducing the new technologies in businesses and public services, if the country was to be able to take advantage of the opportunities offered by the digital revolution.
Jean Diederich, president of the Association of Professionals in the Information Society (Association des professionnels de la société de l’information – APSI), described all the various players active in what is now called ‘retail technology’, emphasising more particularly the importance of straightforward, effective payment systems in order to bring down the extremely high rate of transactions that are not converted into actual purchases and hence into turnover.
Moderated by Fernand Ernster, Vice-President of the Chamber of Commerce, the conference continued with feedback from a group of retailers who have taken the leap into e commerce. Their websites – luxcaddy.lu, abitare.lu, yourshop.lu, weloveto.travel and electronic-shop.lu – are all success stories; they all agreed that a large dose of enthusiasm, energy and optimism, combined with a certain amount of start-up capital, had been essential when they set out on their adventure.
The conference closed with a presentation by Google’s Director for Belgium and Luxembourg, who stressed that the potential for online commerce was not being tapped sufficiently in the Grand Duchy, to the advantage of other countries both inside Europe and elsewhere. With a view to better equipping businesses in the Grand Duchy to take advantage of this potential, Google – in collaboration with the House of Training – is proposing a series of free three-hour training courses on different aspects of online commerce.
