A traditional shopping trip down the high street isn’t what it used to be. Plenty of stores are closing, and lot’s of names that you grew up with are no longer with us. Stores are trying anything in order to increase sales, yet traditional shopping activity is struggling to meet targets.

Research shows however that online spend is on the increase, with so many online businesses flourising and most of them feeling very confident about the future.

Online spending in the UK is set to reach £56bn by 2014 as the web defies the recession, according to analyst Forrester Research, and internet sales will grow at a yearly rate of six per cent over the next six years, says the survey, which covered more than 4,100 UK consumers as well as large retailers with a web presence.

UK consumers are leading the online shopping trend, with spending reaching around £1,312 per person per year. By comparison, Germans spend £771 a year online and the French spend £693 annually.

“Growing numbers of UK online shoppers and growing online spend per shopper encourage retailers and travel operators to improve their online offerings, which in turn draw more shoppers and higher spending.”

According to the IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index, UK shoppers spent over £4.6bn during the Christmas period last year, an increase of more than 14 per cent year on year – equivalent to £76.67 for every person in the UK.

With nearly 10 million adults shopping online at least once a week, it seems that the web is the place to be pushing your business at the moment. The current downturn promotes accountability and measurability in marketing and online marketing is extremely strong in these sectors. Our analytics can show how many clicks you have received, how many visitors have spent on your site and where they have come from.

We are living at a time where every pound matters. Consumers are more educated than they used to be and use the web to find their retailers and the best prices, hence the increase and success of brands such as moneysupermarket.com and shopthemarket.com.

So, how does this all affect you?! Let’s ask a few basic questions…

• Are you selling online yet?
• Does your site generate any income?
• Is your site being left behind by your competitors?

Now is the time to review your online presence and marketing strategy. Make sure that every penny you spend is effective, so contact us today and we’ll do our very best to make the internet work for you.