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With the approval of the European Commission, the Ministry of Economy and Innovation commits to publish 60 million. a 1 euro measure to promote e-commerce for small and medium-sized enterprises and the introduction of teleworking.
The BNS Ministry indicated that non-reimbursable subsidies will be available to companies that operate for at least one year, whose average annual income will be at least 50 thousand. euros. The companies that have received the investment are expected to increase their income by at least 20 percent.
More people, but smaller numbers
Zita Sorokienė, president of the Lithuanian Association of Small Entrepreneurs and Traders, says that the volume of online commerce has “increased slightly” due to the coronavirus crisis, but this cannot solve the fundamental problems.
“It just came to our attention then. Very few of the self-employed with business licenses. Perhaps more companies, family businesses have developed bigger businesses. But this is not the tool that can save. Online stores need to open up. , publicize and stay, ”Z.Sorokienė told BNS.
“E-commerce will not change the situation. Both commerce and sales decreased. Both supply and demand. Unlike cafes, the smallest entrepreneurs come from the customers of others. The process has slowed down a lot,” said Z Sorokienė.
Regina Randienė, owner of the e-shops linasmedis.lt and balticbuy.com, which has been operating for a decade, says that there is little competition between online stores that sell products from small entrepreneurs, since the turnover of these stores does not reach the one that is received at fairs.
“Many of these electronic stores (…) are created every year, everyone expects a quick result, but it is not like that, you have to wait. (…) If each of the small entrepreneurs opens one or another e-shop, some will be disappointed, so they will remain semi-active, someone will work more seriously, someone will go to intermediaries ”, said R. Randienė.
According to her, during the coronavirus epidemic, the number of people shopping in online stores increased, but the amounts spent decreased, as well as the number of large orders decreased.
Sigismund Gedvilas / Amber
According to R. Randienė, several hundred artisans supply shops with amber and wood products and linen products, but some of them are very disorganized, so after placing an order, it is necessary to “call, remind, urge and hurry up seven times. “
Astijus Jasaitis, owner of the amber products company Napoleonas, told BNS that although the turnover in his own stores is sometimes only three euros a day, he does not pay much attention to online sales. It is only for the sake of advertising, not the most important means of selling products and making money.
“It’s just that we show our products. In Lithuania, that trade is just that. A lot of time is wasted in discussions with buyers, negotiating the price and then asking for it to be sent to you for free,” said A. Jasaitis.
He also highlighted that as the market situation changes due to the coronavirus, more attention can be paid to online trading.
Different experiences
Aurelija Gedmintaitė, director of the 23-member Plungė Small Business Association, told BNS that during the first wave of the virus, only the owner of a service sector company, which had a massage parlor, closed down.
“A woman said she would close her cafe because she had no income since March. No more bankruptcies, companies are going into liquidation, there are no facts. Nobody is happy with that crisis, but everyone is scratching themselves in some way”, said A. Gedmintaitė.
According to her, for example, an online store that opened during the first wave of the coronavirus crisis saved a company that made windows and doors, installed blinds and sewed curtains.
Meanwhile, Sandra Jarockytė-Aleksejevienė, director of the Mažeikiai Entrepreneurs Association, which unites fifty companies, said that many companies went bankrupt due to the coronavirus crisis, especially the construction sector, which has already lost millions of orders .
“You will not build a home online. And the winners were those who had online commerce. Seeing this, part of the business has learned and practiced distance selling over the summer. During the first wave, it was developed, maneuvered, observed and just he managed to gain experience, recover, the second wave hit, ”said S. Jarockytė-Aleksejevienė.
Jolanta Gintalienė, Director of the Mažeikiai Business and Tourism Information Center, told BNS that soon the district’s small entrepreneurs or artisans will be able to offer their goods and products in a joint online store with representatives of the tourism sector, funded by the Science Agency , Innovation and Technology.
“The online store is more focused on tourism: selling itineraries, souvenirs, but we thought it was a unique tool to take advantage of (…) and other bears affected by coronavir (entrepreneurs – BNS). Most of them traded live at fairs, and now there are no more markets, fairs, ”said J. Gintalienė.
The online store should be up and running by the end of this year. According to J. Gintalienė, the first requests from potential traders have already been received.
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