About 65 per cent of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the United Kingdom that sell products and services online plan to boost their international sales in 2015.

This shows a significant improvement in sentiment as only 39 per cent of these retailers intended to increase their global sales in 2014. This is according to the Royal Mail’s yearly tracker study, which looked into the challenges and expectations of these businesses.

“There is a marked increase in the percentage of UK SME online retailers aiming to grow international sales in 2015, compared with 2014,” said Nick Landon, Managing Director at Royal Mail Parcels.

The respondents were particularly bullish as 84 per cent are planning to enter new markets, with the United States being the top target for 39 per cent of online retailers thanks to the country’s flourishing economy.

In 2014, Europe was the preferred market for British SMEs, but it dropped to second place this year as only 30 per cent of the respondents were planning to venture into this market in 2015.

Interestingly, the number of online retailers eyeing Russia rose to 15 per cent from 9 per cent a year ago despite the weakening of its currency.

Furthermore, 70 per cent of the SMEs are confident that they will rake in higher sales in 2015, up from 61 per cent the previous year. However, 76 per cent felt that competition is stiffer nowadays than it was in 2014.