Research Review on the Breakthrough Path of Traditional SMEs’ E-commerce Under the Background of Digital Transformation

Abstract

The in-depthintegration of digitaleconomy and real economy hasrestructuredthecompetition paradigm and growth logic of the e-commerce industry, driving the industry from extensive traffic expansion to a stock competition stage featuring quality improvement and efficiency enhancement. Against the backdrop of industrial iteration and upgrading,thesolidifieddevelopmentmodeloftraditionalsmallandmedium-sizedenterprises(SMEs)relyingonoffline physical operation, traditional foreign trade order receiving and extensive online bulk sales can no longer adapt to the high-quality development requirements of e-commerce. Practical dilemmas including single channel structure, severe product homogenization, weak digital operation capability and prominent resource constraints continuously restrict the transformation, upgrading and long-term development of small and medium-sized e-commerce entities. With the continuousiterationofdigitaltechnologies,theimplementationofindustrialsupportpoliciesandthein-depthupgrading of resident consumption scenarios, digital transformation has become the core approach for traditional SMEs to break throughoperationalbottlenecksandachieveindustrialbreakthroughs.Adoptingtheresearchmethodsofliteraturereview, comparative analysis and inductive summary, this paper systematically sorts out domestic and foreign research achievements on the digital transformation of SMEs’ e-commerce, clarifies the development status, transformation shackles and underlying evolution logic of traditional small and medium-sized e-commerce businesses, and conducts a panoramic review from six dimensions: industrial development trend, core transformation bottlenecks, transformation driving mechanism, operation model comparison, differentiated breakthrough paths and future development trends. By constructing two comparative analysis systems (traditional extensive e-commerce vs. digital refined e-commerce, large enterprises vs. SMEs) and combining macro industrial statistical data and industrial development characteristics, this paper intuitively reveals the differentiated endowments and existing shortcomings of SMEs’digital transformation. The research shows that the full-link and heavy-investment digital reconstruction model adopted by large enterprises is not suitable for the resource-constrained characteristics of traditional SMEs, and the incremental upgrading featuring lightweight, precision and scenario-based development is the core path adapted to the operational status of SMEs. Platform ecological empowerment, lightweight digital tool implementation, refined private domain operation, digital adaptation of supply chain and policy-ecology coordination are the key paths for small and medium-sized e-commerce businessestobreakthroughindustrialdevelopmentdilemmas.Onthebasisofsortingoutexistingresearchandanalyzing research deficiencies, this paper clarifies the future academic research directions and industrial evolution trends. The research conclusions can provide theoretical reference and practical support for the transformation practice of traditional SMEs’e-commerce, the deepening of relevant academic research and the optimization of industrial policies, andhelpsmallandmedium-sizede-commerceentitiesachievehigh-qualityandlong-termdevelopment.