The On-Line Boom
Internet retail spending is predicted to grow by 32%, according to Verdict Research Consulting, compared with off-line spending growth of just 1.2% over the coming year. Why should that affect your business if you are not in retailing? Quite simply because more people are spending more time and money on-line.
By 2012 the same company predicts that on-line spending will account for 14% of all retail spending in the UK, or £44.5 billion, in part because consumers find it easier to shop around for the best price. These are habits that will cross over to other activities such as work, for example in sourcing and procuring products or services, or browsing for information before making business decisions.
Your clients, who are all also retail consumers of course, are spending more time on-line and the object is to take advantage of that. In a retail context, you would identify who your customers are, and then you would measure foot-fall at various locations. Using that knowledge, you open your shop where you find most of your customers are likely to be. What this report tells us is that more of your prospective clients are spending more time and money on-line. On-line is where the foot-fall is.
The Internet has grown by 5000% over the past ten years, and the report goes on to say that an on-line presence could make the difference between success and failure. Neil Saunders, Verdict's director of consulting says, "The Internet seems to be laughing in the face of the economic slowdown."
.
- Mark Griffin's blog
- Login or register to post comments
