How big is the e-tail market?
Richard Doidge: A Verdict report on e-shopping in the UK estimated sales of £400m a year in 1998. By 2003, that is expected to increase to £6bn, reflecting an increase from 0.2% to 3% of the whole retail market. Another piece of research expects the market to increase to £113bn by 2009 – £1 in £8 of all money spent will be over the net. Martin Barber: You’ve got to differentiate between e-commerce and e-tail. Business-to-business is going to see the real impact. If I were an insurance broker I would be shaking in my shoes. Michael Cover: Business-to-business is going to be 10 times as big as business-to-consumer. What impact will e-tail have on the high street? Martin Barber (to Martin Meech): Are you taking fewer shops? Martin Meech: In the short term no, because the amount of business on the net is fairly small. But 10 years on, it could be different. We’re all trying to build in more flexibility in terms of shorter leases and break clauses. So if it does take off quickly, we’ve got
