Influence of Online Retail ‘Set to Extend’

by Stephen Logan on 5th February 2010

The launch of several new electronic devices looks set to boost the influence of the internet on retail, one industry expert has asserted.

Interactive Media in Retail Group (IMRG) director of operations David Smith suggested that gadgets such as the iPad and other mobile applications could add to an already positive outlook for online marketing techniques such as SEO services.

He predicted that by the end of the decade, about half of all transactions in the retail sector could take place on the internet and this is likely to extend to many other industries as well.

Mr Smith noted that new mobile gadgets that have access to the web will enhance the influence of the medium on top of the capabilities of more conventional desktop PCs.

"The more important thing is that by 2020 we are going to have a situation where 90 per cent of retailing is going to be influenced by what at the moment you would call online," he explained.

A recent forecast by IMRG and Capgemini suggested that internet retail could grow by 13 per cent in 2010.