Business beaver

Views on the performance of retail trading over the 2007 Christmas period are mixed but the one area of consensus that is incontrovertible is that the percentage of the sales transacted over the Internet grew again last year.

You can debate for hours whether the Internet is a blessing or curse to modern society but what is beyond question is that it is here to stay and the rules of trading, whether business to business or business to consumer have changed forever.

The growth in the use of the Internet is astounding. According the Government’s National Statistics Office between 2002 and 2006 the proportion of adults in Great Britain who had used the Internet in the previous three months increased by one quarter to 60 percent. Almost six in ten of Internet users aged 16 and over went online every day or almost every day in 2006 while 4 per cent went on less than once a month. This trend is only set to continue.

Consider the total seed change in the music industry driven almost entirely by the demand from young people. No longer is it a case of saving your money and visiting the retailer at the weekend; today’s demand is for immediate affordable access.

One major advantage of the Internet to the smaller business is that size really doesn’t matter. You can be up there along with the big boys and, particularly if you are operating in a specialist or niche market, as long as you can showcase and supply your product at the right price in a timely manner you’re competitive.

Stop for a while and think about your customers and your product. If your typical customer fits in the 20 to 45 age range the majority will be turning to the Internet as their prime source of information when making a purchase. If the demographics of your target customer is higher a larger proportion will be reliant on the more traditional sources of advertising and press but this is set change as the more savvy Internet consumer ages.

If you thought two years ago there is no market for your product on the Internet I would urge you to consider again. Getting a website with an effective web shop online is not expensive; and “beware” because if you don’t do it you are in danger that your customers will vote with their mouse button.

This article originally appeared in the March 2008 edition of Wiltshire Business

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