Over a third of UK small and medium sized businesses think that the pandemic has been a positive catalyst for change as digital skills soared during lockdown, according to a PayPal report.

The poll of more than 1,000 SMEs reveals that 30 per cent believe their business plans have been expedited by a year or more due to Covid-19, with 11 per cent stating they are now three or more years ahead of where they expected to be, despite recent lockdowns.

The research found that of the SMEs that moved their business online, 32 per cent did so to navigate the pandemic, while almost two thirds (60 per cent) expect customers to continue shopping online despite restrictions lifting.

The study also revealed that the pandemic has seen 73 per cent of SMEs that moved online forced to rapidly develop new digital skills to reach their customers, with social media marketing (21 per cent), e-commerce (16 per cent), website design (12 per cent) and enabling digital payments (11 per cent), as leading skills acquired to help navigate lockdown and achieve success.

"Optimism is high, with one in five SMEs expecting Britain's reopening to be bigger than traditional key trading periods including Christmas, Black Friday and Cyber Monday,” said Vincent Belloc, managing director, PayPal UK. “However, we know that the future for business is digital.”

Belloc added: “Small businesses need help envisioning their future and a failure to protect them will put the speed of recovery at risk. As a long-standing and trusted partner of UK SMEs, we will continue to be a pillar of support and growth and help them achieve their ambitions."

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