BBC Manchester
18th November 2008
(Excerpts)

Boom, not gloom, online
From the highest business premises in Manchester, Lawrence Jones has an unrivalled view of a hidden world: the world of online sales.

The web host company UK Fast, which is based on the 28th floor of City Tower in Piccadilly Gardens, looks after 250,000 web sites, all busy trying to compete in the world of e-commerce.

Yet, far from the gloomy sales figures down below on the High Street, managing director Lawrence Jones believes that online sales are flying high.

"I’d say we’re in the middle of a boom," he said confidently.

"And I’d say we’ve been in a boom for some time but because of the boom of the early years that went horribly wrong, people have been very nervous of saying that."

Elaine Ferneley, Professor of Technological Innovation at the Salford Business School said there were a number of reasons why online shopping was proving so popular.

"People are more conscious of what they’re spending and, with sites like Kelkoo and Pricerunner, the web allows them to make useful cost comparisons when they’re looking for a bargain," she said.

Professor Ferneley also said that shopping online was less painful than going to the shops with your hard-earned cash. "If you’re sat in front of your laptop, there’s a perception by a lot of people that they're not really buying anything!"

She added that big companies like IKEA were already questioning whether they needed more shops and concentrating on their online sales. Even small niche businesses were seeing growth online, extending their sales globally, she said.

Printerland.co.uk based in Altrincham is one of them. The computer printer business has seen its turnover soar from £2 million to £18 million in just three years - largely from online sales.

In spite of the global gloom, managing Director James Kight said they'd just witnessed their best two weeks' sales ever and were even recruiting staff to cope with demand.

"We've not dropped our prices or anything," he said. "We've just increased our marketing. It's about getting the fundamentals right, in terms of good customer service, and having a online side to the business that delivers."