Research and analysis

Traders Survey Wave 8: Executive Summary (2024)

Updated 29 January 2026

This research was commissioned under the Conservative administration (2010 to 2024), and conducted in 2024.

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) Research Report TBC.

Overview 

HMRC commissioned Ipsos to conduct research with VAT registered businesses based in Great Britain (GB) after staged customs controls were introduced from 1 January 2022. The research aimed to understand how businesses were continuing to trade with the European Union (EU) and adapting to new processes, and their awareness of new systems.  

In total, 8 waves of the quantitative survey have been completed. Each wave comprised of random probability telephone surveys to measure change in readiness over time. This report focuses on summary findings from the wave 8 survey, which took place between 30 June and 3 August 2023, and insights from the follow-up qualitative research, which took place between 26 January and 15 February 2024. Separate reports include findings from waves 1 to 5, and findings from waves 6 and 7. All findings in this report are from wave 8 except where specified. 

How to read this report 

This report makes reference to different groups of businesses who took part in the survey. For the purpose of interpreting the results, where the term ‘trader’ is used, this refers to those businesses that took part in the survey, specifically VAT registered businesses based in GB who either traded with the EU only, or the EU and Rest of World. When referring to ‘current exporters’ and ‘current importers’, these are VAT registered businesses based in GB who at the time of the survey said they were currently exporting goods to customers in the EU, and currently importing goods from the EU, respectively. 

Trading behaviours 

At the time of the survey, the majority of traders (55%) said they were exporting goods to the EU, similar to the wave 7 survey (54%), while 84% said they were importing goods from the EU, the same proportion as at wave 7.  

While 43% of current exporters said that they had not changed how much they exported to the EU since the start of January 2022, 47% said they exported fewer goods and 6% exported more goods. Among current importers, 61% said they had not changed how much they imported from the EU since January 2022, while one-quarter reported importing less (27%) and 12% reported importing more. 

Handling customs requirements 

The majority of traders (83%) said they had hired a customs intermediary to handle their customs requirements for trading with the EU, the same proportion as at wave 7. In the qualitative interviews, traders reported using intermediaries due to the complexity of customs declarations and processes, to ensure compliance with import and export declarations and because of the range of markets involved. When choosing an intermediary, the intermediary’s network and expertise in relevant markets, and the quality of the intermediary’s services were key factors in decision making. 

The most commonly used customs regimes, as reported by traders, were simplified declarations procedures (33%), International Road Transports (20%) and inward processing (20%). Around one-fifth (22%) said a third party looked after this for them. 

Most traders who had hired a customs intermediary agreed that they were satisfied with the service provided (86%) and that their intermediary had excellent knowledge of customs processes and procedures (85%). The majority also agreed that their intermediary provided good value for money (62%). In the qualitative interviews, positive views around the quality of service from intermediaries highlighted responsiveness, knowledge and trust. 

UK Single Trade Window 

All traders were read out a description of the UK Single Trade Window in the survey before answering the questions in this section 1.

Around one-fifth of traders (21%) said they were aware of the UK Single Trade Window, similar to the wave 7 survey (17%). Among those who were aware of it, one-fifth said they knew a great deal or a fair amount about it (19%), while 45% knew ‘not a lot’ and 35% ‘nothing’ about it. More than half of all traders (56%) said that they were likely to sign up to use the UK Single Trade Window, based on what they knew or had read about it. In the qualitative interviews, traders commonly reported adopting a ‘wait and see’ approach, feeling that time and resource constraints meant they would not engage with the UK Single Trade Window until they had to. 

One-sixth of importers (17%) said that they used the Customs Declaration Service (CDS) in- house (that is, they used CDS to submit declarations themselves). Only small minorities (5% or less) said they used other systems or services in-house (Goods and Vehicle Movement Service (GVMS), Import of Products, Animals, Food and Feed System (IPAFFS), Procedure for Electronic Application for Certificates (PEACH) and Safety and Security Great Britain (S&S GB)). Traders who used CDS, GVMS or S&S GB, either themselves or through an intermediary, thought that the most common potential causes of error when submitting information were entering the wrong type of information on the system or not having all the required information at the time of submission. 

Supply Chain Management System  

All traders were read out a description of Supply Chain Management Systems in the survey before answering the questions in this section. 

More than half of traders (58%) said they were aware of Supply Chain Management Systems. Of those who were aware, 45% surveyed had used a Supply Chain Management System or a third party had used one on their behalf. 

Most traders who used a Supply Chain Management System said it was purchased off-the-shelf (64%) rather than being developed in-house (26%). Traders used a Supply Chain Management System for various reasons, including inventory management (85%), order management (84%), data management (84%) and reporting (82%). 

In the qualitative interviews, traders using in-house Supply Chain Management Systems highlighted simplicity, low cost, and functionality for bespoke products and goods as key benefits. Similarly, traders using purchased Supply Chain Management Systems also highlighted ease of use, the availability of customer support, and customisation functionality to adapt to more bespoke products. However, traders using purchased Supply Chain Management Systems noted it cost more to purchase a system than to develop their own system in-house, and a purchased system was more complex and harder to learn than one developed in-house. 

Internet of Things (IoT) 

All traders were read out a description of Internet of Things (IoT) devices in the survey before answering the questions in this section 3.

A small minority of traders (11%) said that they had ever used any IoT devices within their business model. They were more likely to use passive data sharing such as through Radio Frequency ID (RFID) barcodes (70%), than active data sharing such as GPS enabled devices (34%).4 The qualitative interviews suggested traders considered IoT devices more relevant if they were trading in perishable items, high-value items, or in certain countries where their trust in the local hauliers was lower. 

Among traders not using IoT devices, the most common reasons given for not using such devices were that they did not need to use them (43%) and that they did not think they would be beneficial to them (30%). This was also reflected in the qualitative interviews.  

Moving goods 

Traders were most likely to rely on hauliers or carriers to transport their goods to or from the EU (69%), consistent with wave 7 (71%). Among those who used hauliers or carriers or transported goods themselves, 88% said their goods were transported to or from the EU by road (including lorries, trailers, and including Eurotunnel and Channel Ferry), 50% by sea (i.e. sea freight containers), and 26% by air (i.e. air freight containers). 

Where traders used hauliers or carriers and had their goods transported by road, 39% said they provided reference numbers relating to customs declarations, while 24% used reference numbers relating to documents for goods moving under carnets or transit.  

Around one-third either did not provide any reference numbers to the haulier or carrier (22%) or did not know what type of reference numbers they used (12%). These traders said that reference numbers were provided by a supplier or manufacturer (29%), the main transport contractor or haulier (27%), an intermediary (26%) or a carrier (20%). 

The qualitative interviews revealed a strong reliance on intermediaries to deal with import systems and services due to the time and complexity involved. This included traders commonly trusting intermediaries to deal with references and ensuring declarations for goods were added to Goods Movement References. These traders were confident in their intermediaries to do this, and assumed intermediaries would flag any issues to them. 

Engagement with HMRC 

The majority of traders (88%) said they had made online contact with HMRC over the previous 12 months, most commonly by looking at guidance provided on GOV.UK (75%), using HMRC online services (63%) or corresponding with HMRC by email (44%). When searching online for information linked to HMRC, 15% said they ‘always’ found what they were looking for, while 42% said they ‘often’ did so, 30% ‘sometimes’, 9% ‘rarely’ and 3% ‘never’. 

When asked how they would first try to get information from HMRC or to contact them with a query, 63% of traders expressed a preference for online contact. A minority preferred telephone contact (14%) or using an intermediary (7%, among those who had hired one). Where traders preferred an alternative method to online, the top reasons were preferring to speak to a person (31%), difficulty finding information online (31%), thinking the online method would take too long or knowing they can get an answer quicker elsewhere (14%), and difficulty navigating GOV.UK or other online HMRC services (14%). 

In the qualitative interviews, traders’ experiences of engaging with HMRC’s GOV.UK website were mixed in terms of understanding the terminology, navigating the volume of information and finding definitive answers to their queries. If not using HMRC’s online services, traders preferred sources of information that helped them to distil information, such as intermediaries, accountants, shippers and trade associations.