The proportion of small and medium-sized businesses in the UK retail sector that run a website has risen sharply from just seven per cent in 2004, to around 25 per cent today, according to new research.

Actinic's fifth annual E-commerce Report found that the percentage of UK SMEs offering an online ordering and payment facility has also more than doubled, from three per cent last year to around eight per cent this year.

However, this still remains low overall and lags behind the deployment of new business websites.

The study identified a trend towards server-based/ASP e-commerce solutions, with growth from 22 per cent in 2004 to 29 per cent this year.

The survey also revealed rises in the number of companies planning to adopt e-commerce in the future (13 per cent), and in the number of online traders planning further development to their sites (48 per cent).

The findings confirm predictions by Gartner of a second wave of internet adoption driven by the spread of broadband.

Chris Barling, chief executive at Actinic, said: "2005 may prove to be the year when e-commerce finally comes of age.

"But there is still a long way to go before the percentage of businesses trading online comes anywhere near the percentage of consumers shopping online.

"Many small businesses are still missing out on a huge opportunity at a time when traditional retail is under increasing pressure."

The study was conducted for Actinic by PFA Research based on interviews with 394 SMEs in the retail sector.