International digital trade is now a significant driver of productivity and business growth in the UK. The digital sector contributed £150.6 billion to the UK economy in 2019, employing 4.6% of the national workforce, and firms selling goods or providing services digitally have taken local markets to a global scale. In 2019, the UK’s remotely delivered trade with the world was £326 billion – around one quarter of Britain’s total trade in that year. Globally, some estimates suggest that digital transformation investments could total $6.8 trillion between 2020 and 2023.
Digital trade allows British businesses to share the benefits of prosperity by:
1) reaching a wider consumer base by selling online
2) trading more efficiently and cost-effectively by streamlining shipping, logistics and other trading processes
3) connecting and growing their workforce across different regions of the world
The ability to connect digitally alongside more traditional methods also makes the supply of services more resilient to disruption. A recent study suggests the ability to connect remotely has mitigated the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on the cost of supplying services.