View across Fenland landcape near Little Downham

How fast is online shopping growing?

IMRG estimates that half the UK population shopped online last Christmas, spending more than £3bn. Online shopping is currently outgrowing high street retail sales six fold.

With the surging take up of broadband in the UK, and sites like Ebay demonstrating the huge potential of selling goods online, the future looks bright for online stores.

However, accompanying this expansion is a huge increase in competition. Therefore success means getting a whole series of factors right.

What will encourage a customer buy from your online store?

1) They must be able to find it easily

You need to optimise your online store in the search engines, particularly MSN, Yahoo and Google. Unless you are in the top 20 listed websites, potential customers are unlikely to visit you.

2) Your store must provide a satisfying customer experience

This is about matching customer expectations, especially making it easy for shoppers to find what they are looking for.

3) Your store must inspire confidence in buying from you

Ensure that your prices, delivery and returns policy are clearly laid out to reassure customers about shopping online with you. Above all, your checkout process needs to be streamlined so it reinforces confidence.

See Top 100 online stores »