Retailers with an online presence are set to capitalise on consumers' growing hunger for web-based shopping during 2007 as UK shoppers open their purse strings to the tune of 42 billion, according to e-retail expert IMRG.
This year, some 860 million parcels will be shipped to the 26 million net fans that'll spend, on average, 1,600, all of which will help to fuel the growth of online sales so that they double in volume and value by 2010.
"Online shopping is bursting with fresh opportunities for consumers, retailers and brands. It is growing and globalizing faster than ever before," said IMRG in its eight Senate Annual Statement.
"This eighth IMRG Senate Annual Statement is published at a defining time for the retail industry, when interactive technology is energising and changing the course of mainstream commerce."
Online activity will ultimately become a critical success factor for a country's economy, according to IMRG, which believes that the web's ability to remove geographical boundaries will result in a global shopping marketplace worth 250 billion this year.
"Well over a billion people use the internet, some 17 per cent of the world's population, of which almost a third live in Europe. Developing a thriving e-commerce sector that reaches beyond national borders will become vital for the competitiveness of every country's economy," added the IMRG.
"The value of cross-border e-retail trade is set to grow enormously within the next few years, as brands gain familiarity in working with the internet's ability to identify and match shopping requirements with supply, locally and globally in real-time. This will lead to increased efficiencies by streamlining production, stocking and distribution operations, giving consumers access to a wider range of goods and suppliers, and presenting e-retailers with great opportunities to expand their influence, product range and market reach."
