Intelligent SME.tech Issue 27 | Page 10

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Over half of online merchants report checkout issues during peak shopping times
The majority of online SMBs ( small to medium size businesses ) rely on seasonal business to keep them afloat , but around half ( 52 %) say they have experienced checkout issues during these vital surge shopping periods , up from 43 % in 2021 . That ’ s according to new research with over 1,100 merchants in 12 countries commissioned by leading specialised payments platform , Paysafe .
Almost three quarters ( 74 %) say the checkout continues to be a serious competitive advantage , perhaps in part due to the impact when things go wrong . Nearly a third ( 31 %) of businesses who have experienced a surge-related issue with their checkouts lost upwards of US $ 100,000 – with common issues including checkout system slowdown ( 46 %) and a failure to authorise payments ( 31 %).
This problem takes on more significance if you consider the effort merchants make to get customers to the checkout stage in the first place . Nearly three quarters ( 74 %) cite cart abandonment as an on-going issue in 2022 and 61 % say abandonment has increased in last 12 months .
New Pearson study identifies human skills as the ‘ power skills ’ most in demand in UK job market
Research from Pearson , a learning company , finds that despite new technologies transforming the world of work , the top five most in demand skills today are human skills , with the trend set to continue through at least 2026 .
Using an analysis of more than 21 million job ads , in the US , UK , Canada and Australia , Pearson ’ s Skills Outlook identifies today ’ s new ‘ power skills ’ – those capabilities now powering the world ’ s economy and individual careers . The analysis shows that while technical capabilities remain vitally important for many roles , employers highly prize human skills such as collaboration , communication and teamwork .
Job ads in 2022 were dominated by five human skills : communication , organisation , customer service , attention to detail and teamwork .
Looking ahead to 2026 , Pearson ’ s modelling suggests that the top five power skills will be collaboration , customer focus , personal learning and mastery , achievement focus , and cultural and social intelligence .
Speiz secures € 1.3 million in seed funding to launch European marketplace for warehouse leasing
Norwegian proptech startup , Speiz , has raised € 1.3 million in seed funding round led by F-LOG Ventures . The funding will enable Speiz to continue establishing its new SaaSenabled marketplace for commercial warehouse real estate in Norway and expand its reach across Europe .
This investment comes at a time when the commercial proptech industry will be facing significant challenges and changing demand . Despite the recession increasing interest rates , causing property yields to shrink and property prices to collapse ,
Speiz sees these difficult times as an opportunity to support businesses . With reports of a warehouse vacancy rate of just 3 % in the UK , a strain on supply chains will be felt as SMEs across Europe scramble to find warehouse space in competition with larger retailers storing excess inventory leftover from the pandemic .
There has never been a better time for start-up innovation in this industry . Speiz started in the Antler Accelerator Programme in 2020 , co-founded by CEO , Paulius Kvedaras . �
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