A report by research agency Amarach earlier this year laid bare the scope of the digital economy in modern Ireland; there are an estimated 2.6 million online shoppers in the country (amounting to nearly 60% of the total population) who between them spend roughly €3.7billion per annum. The proliferation of smartphones and the internet as core components of our everyday lives ensures we have no reason to assume that this trend will desist any time in the foreseeable future, ensuring that the digital market constitutes a massive and long-term temptation for franchises to tap into.
The Amarach report went further to provide information on how Irish online operators old a significant advantage in the indigenous market. The drive to buy Irish has permeated the online space, ensuring that questioned consumers would rather purchase goods and services from an Irish website if one is available that meets their needs. To this end, Irish enterprises big and small should make cultivating an online presence a priority as doing so has the potential to significantly increase the scope of their business. Furthermore, over half of adult respondents to the Amarach survey claimed that they would like to operate their own internet enterprise from home, a possibility which an online franchise could facilitate.
There are currently a number of franchise opportunities available via Franchise Direct for entrepreneurs seeking to enter the digital marketplace. One such pathway is Easy App Business, which as its name implies specialises in the generation of mobile apps for businesses. This is a particularly lucrative and fast-growing segment of the digital sphere, with apps paramount to companies hoping to plug or provide their product or service via the ever expanding smartphone segment.
Travel is a leading area of online expenditure for Irish consumers, and so it should serve as no surprise to find an online franchise operating within this area. My Destination provides essential information to tourists prior to commencing their forays overseas. Franchisees situated all across the globe (including in Ireland) provide specialised, localised information to prospective tourists hoping to visit their locale. In doing this, they can help to raise the online profile of their locality, encouraging tourists which in turn generate and/or rejuvenate other businesses within the area.
Financial services are increasingly solicited via online channels, and the Irish market has witnessed the arrival of a franchise into this area in the form of The Lending Hub, which offers payday loans, that is, short-term loans repaid on the client’s payday. Payday loans are an increasingly popular short term solution for clients seeking a quick cash injection and The Lending Hub could be your ticket to accessing this unique market segment.
Online selling and marketing form a symbiotic circle that together comprise the core of the digital retail revolution in Ireland, and Franchise Direct currently offers you the opportunity to franchise with two exciting companies making headways within these areas. YBIS offers affiliate marketing services to larger companies, aiding their online retailing efforts by referring customers to their websites, while Olapromo provides online advertising solutions to small businesses, helping them to enter the tempting but daunting digital realm for the first time.