A new independent report commissioned by Skillsmart Retail released on the busiest online shopping day examines the growing influence of e-commerce within the UK economy.

The report concludes that e-retailing has the greatest potential for growth all year round compared to its high street cousin; and could potentially double its retail market share by 2012, when £1 in every £10 will be spent online.

Strong year-on-year growth has defied the sluggish growth in the sector as a whole; sales of non food items grew 17.9% online compared to 0.8% in the overall sector.

With many analysts predicting a ‘last hurrah’ from consumers before next year’s VAT increase and up to 80% of Christmas shoppers using the internet to make purchases this year, online retailers are anticipating their strongest ever sales.

Online Christmas sales are likely to be up 17.6% on last year, accounting for 9.5% of all sales over the festive period. A total of £56billion is expected to be spent online in 2010.

With the current growing trend for mobile internet purchasing now becoming a big part of online sales it will be interesting to see how the traditional retail industry is able to adapt to survive during the coming years.

The DMA research team conducted their research by posing as potential customers, requesting catalogues and brochures from 200 UK based companies covering a variety of sectors.

The research found that a dismal 19% of retail and service industry companies contacted during the survey did not respond to requests for information.

Companies were also evaluated on their acknowledgement, use of personalisation and presentation. Of those companies that responded, just 38.5 per cent sent an email acknowledgement and only 53 per cent sent a personalised response. Many were also guilty of sending duplicate response packs, incorrect address details and poor presentation.

The automotive and home sectors recorded the best response rates while hobbies, pets, sports and transport sectors comprised the largest number of non-respondent companies. Virgin Holidays, Voyages of Discovery, Honda Lawn & Garden and several automotive brands including Mercedes Benz, Mitsubishi and Skoda came out on top, responding within one day with a personalised response. Other brands such as Vauxhall, Laura Ashley and Everest Windows fared less well, taking over a week to respond or not responding at all.

Sally Hollis, chair of the DMA Response Management Council, commented;

“While the UK online economy may be booming, the findings should be a warning to business as more and more shoppers are using both the web and catalogues to purchase goods – with this increasing by about 60 per cent in the run up to Christmas. The internet offers consumers a massive choice and they are quick to move on if they don’t get a prompt response. It’s a proven fact that a fast personalised reply will result in more sales – businesses need to buck up their ideas by going back to basics and focus on offering good customer service.”

Jos Dewing, head of marketing & reservations, Voyages of Discovery & Swan Hellenic, said:

“Our customer is always at the very centre of our marketing approach and we treat every marketing request as we would expect our own to be treated with regular reviews and internal testing of procedures. With this in mind, we are delighted to have been rated so highly within this useful research project by the DMA and will continue to improve and develop our approach to fulfilment so that we remain at the top of our field.”

The specialist drinks industry magazine Drink Business carried out a study into the hitherto little researched market of virtual wine sales in the UK and concluded that online wine merchants are generating an estimated £200million per year.

As a nation the UK has one of the highest figures of wine consumption and the study reveals that the online market is the fastest growing channel in terms of retail sales.

Backed up by the findings of e-commerce specialist IMRG/Capgemini, the report calculates that internet sales of not just wine, but also beer and spirits, grew by 23% in the first quarter of 2010.

In a seperate report in The Guardian it is suggested that Britain’s love affair with lager is on the wane and more surprisingly that there is a growth in the formerly stagnant market of real ales.

The new edition of the Good Beer Guide reveals that there are now more than 700 real ale breweries in the UK, the highest number since the second world war and four times more than in 1971 when the Campaign for Real Ale (Camra) was launched in an effort to save the industry from being wiped out.

While the changes in our beer drinking habits are most significant in the surroundings of our local the same is also true with our alcohol consumption at home.

Supermarkets have responded to the reported growth in real ale sales and may even be driving the trend as it is estimated that there are now somewhere between 1,500 and 1,800 bottled ales on sale in off-licences and stores across the UK.

Tesco alone now stocks 350 varieties of bottled ales, compared to a miserly choice of just twenty brands five years ago. Independent retail analysts Kantar Worldpanel confirm that shop sales of real ale increased by 7.2% during last year, while consumption of lager fell by 4%.

Taste seems to be the winner here, while wine has always been appreciated as a compliment to good food, the choice  from established wine growing regions of Europe have been complimented by the fresher fruitier output from Australia, California and South Africa over recent years.

Lager on the other hand is seldom drunk for its taste, strength and coldness are the two most important things with most lager drinkers, but Real Ale is all about taste and the figures suggest that beer drinkers are starting to realise just that.

clinton store rugby

High street greeting card retailer Clinton Cards has announced pre tax profits for the year of £24.1million, up from £22million a year ago. Chief executive Clinton Lewin also revealed plans to launch an online card service to take on rivals like moonpig.com who have rapidly developed the online business and have become something of an internet success story.

Moonpig.com enjoyed a turnover of £20.9million from online sales last year and Clinton’s see the importance of developing that side of the business, with low overheads and good returns.

Clinton Cards also have plans to go into mobile marketing with an iPhone application. Lewin says that trading this year has been satisfactory but not exceptional. The company are gearing up for Christmas when one third of their annual turnover will be taken.

The computer world is becoming more virtual than ever with the advent of Cloud Computing Services, where files can be saved and accessed from an online storage system, making the loss of data a thing of the past.

Although no actual sales figures have been given the company says that in the first week consumers had ordered more than a tonne of the famous woolworths pick & mix sweet selection, now referred to as ‘click & mix. Oddly, Cola bottles proving the most popular item in the confectionery store.

The death of Michael Jackson saw sales of the singers albums boost sales in the entertainment store, accounting for almost 70% of music sales on his own.

The company says that the Ladybird brand of children’s clothing has also been a big hit at the online store. Shop Direct will be hoping to build on the early interest shown on the new site as it introduces new products to it’s various online store areas over the coming months.

Woolworths.co.uk went live online on Thursday, offering consumers the opportunity to purchase over half a million products, including children’s clothes and toys, video games, cd’s, dvd’s and of course the old ‘pick & mix’ sweet selection-now updated to ‘click & mix’.

The company have also relaunched the Ladybird brand of children’s clothing from age 0 to 8 year olds. Clothing, footwear and sports wear for older children will be introduced over the coming months.

Shop Direct expect the Woolworths online shop to make a profit in it’s first year of trading and are chasing trade from other online businesses such as Amazon.

Cheif Executive Mark Newton-Jones said the company are keen to become one of the half dozen websites that people go to regularly and added;

“We don’t have to create awareness about Woolworths because it’s a well known brand, which is a good starting point. We’re using different channels such as facebook, twitter, and blogs to promote the online store and we think that will generate interest in the new Woolworths.”

Now why didn’t the old Woolworths think of that?

Feefo is the only independent forum for online customer service feedback and it’s aim is to challenge all of the webs e-tailers to stand up and be counted by putting their service to the ultimate test.

Feefo (Feedback Forum) is the only independent means for customers to praise or criticise web-based suppliers. Web-based suppliers who sign up to the forum commit to sending details of all their sales to Feefo. Every sale generates an email to the consumer requesting feedback. Customers are able to rate the products and the quality of service received – good or bad. Suppliers have the chance to reply immediately and publicly, making it possible for them to thank customers or rectify dissatisfaction directly. Their customer feedback is then displayed for all to see – the ultimate way to show the world how they appreciate praise and deal with complaints!Feefo (Feedback Forum) is the only independent means for customers to praise or criticise web-based suppliers. Web-based suppliers who sign up to the forum commit to sending details of all their sales to Feefo. Every sale generates an email to the consumer requesting feedback. Customers are able to rate the products and the quality of service received – good or bad. Suppliers have the chance to reply immediately and publicly, making it possible for them to thank customers or rectify dissatisfaction directly. Their customer feedback is then displayed for all to see – the ultimate way to show the world how they appreciate praise and deal with complaints!

OK this is not such a new idea, we all know that e-bay have been using a similar system for several years and Amazon also offer this service, but the difference here is that Feefo is aimed at all online suppliers across the web.

Nick Wheeler, Founder of Charles Tyrwhitt Shirts, says, “Feefo gives your customers the chance to rate your product and service – from Excellent to Bad. Whatever they say, good or bad, is posted immediately onto your website for the whole world to see. Feefo is independent. We cannot edit or change customer responses in any way. I was worried at first – to say the least – but am delighted to see that 99% of our customers rate our service excellent or good. I shall not rest until we hit 100%!”

Bill Cawley of Feefo says, “Feefo is a tool that has huge scope to improve a company’s marketing and sales, whilst also fully optimising it’s search engine visibility. Consumers can use the Feefo symbol as a sign of assurance that a company is prepared to put you first.”

If you are serious about selling online this maybe the right opportunity for you, if you buy online, then customer feedback is paramount.