• A greater percentage of British companies utilise ecommerce than in any other leading industrialised economy*.
• British companies rank third behind only their American and Japanese counterparts in offering ecommerce solutions.*
• There are over 1.2mn commercial broadband connections in the UK and the number continues to grow.**
• Residential broadband penetration has reached over 30% of households and is projected to reach 64% by 2008 – that’s a huge 18.5 million households!**
• £80bn of consumer spending is either on or influenced by the internet.***

All trends point to the fact that more people than ever are turning to the Internet for their shopping and information requirements. eCommerce, while not being the only way to do business, is definitely an avenue that every business owner needs to recognise and adopt. Running a retail business is never easy, what with increasing competition, price wars and huge retailers in every segment. Investing in an eCommerce shop front will provide another interface to additional revenue and customers.

*  UK broadband status summary: Ovum report for the DTI, April-2006
**  Sophisticated broadband services: Analysys report for the DTI, May 2006
***  6th anniversary special report: IMRG Index, May-2006