AS I CLICKED "Checkout" on my last order of podsafe music, I realised I probably won't get my Lovespirals CD before Christmas. I know this because I know the delivery timeline between the States and Europe in December. I won't get some Christmas gifts in time for wrapping because surface mail service with An Post in Ireland isn't as efficient as Deutsche Post in Germany.
I buy most of my online stuff from Amazon, the biggest selling website in the UK. The UK's second biggest retail website is Argos and it offers me some of the best buys I've seen for components. The online portion of the John Lewis department store chain makes as much money as one of its largest outlets. Ireland is missing out on some of this commerce because people with broadband shop more than people with dial-up. According to the Royal Mail, broadband users spend some 20% more than consumers with slower connections. According to the Interactive Media in Retail Group, some 24 million British shoppers will spend £5bn online this Christmas, an average of £208 each, generating 130m internet shopping deliveries. The biggest sellers are books, music, leisure travel services, videos, DVDs and event tickets. The biggest demand is for MP3 players, iPods, mobile phones and games consoles.
Julia Finch -- "Dixons tells web shoppers to be wary" in The Guardian Financial, November 24, 2005.
