Dot.com days are here again. Fashion e-commerce disaster Boo.com was resurrected earlier this month, now a new survey from retail analysts Verdict has found UK online retail has grown at its fastest rate since the bubble burst in 2001. Internet retail spending grew by 33.4 percent to a record £10.9 ($21.6) billion in 2006, 13 times faster than the overall retail sector, said Verdict, which forecasts the average spend of an individual web shopper will grow from £606 ($1,202) last year to £1,056 ($2,095) in 2011, when internet shopping will be worth £28.1 ($56) billion, 8.9 percent of all retail.
The figures do not bear direct correlation to the boom, however, and are likely explained by the UK internet population being a lot larger and more mainstream – intense competition in the broadband space has brought a wave of ordinary consumers online in the last couple of years. (BBC)
Update:The boom wasn’t enough to salvage Sainsbury’s online entertainment store, which is closing May 31 after an undistinguished four-year run. The Times attributes the problem, in part, to the chain’s failure to use paid search to drive traffic. The site also sold only physical media.