With the online shopping curve expected to start in October, Forrester Research is predicting a 58 per cent year-on-year increase in internet shopping in Western Europe

Chris Dean, managing director of IT consultancy DMW, says: “It comes as no surprise that internet shopping is especially favoured by UK shoppers. Our relatively poor transport infrastructure and increasingly busy lifestyles drive many consumers to less stressful ways of bagging their Christmas gifts. However, the catch will be whether the online retail world can cope with the expected 58 per cent increase in volume in internet shopping.

“The peak purchasing time is getting closer and closer to Christmas each year, as a greater proportion of us are leaving our purchases to the last minute.  This will cause big problems for web retailers.  The problem is that many websites were created five or more years ago and were not built for the traffic levels predicted for this Christmas.  It’s not just the web site itself that can cause problems.  The whole supply chain can be stretched beyond breaking point with such a sharp rise in demand.

“To provide top quality on-line customer service requires highly integrated processes. Poor integration with the supply chain can lead to empty virtual shelves or, worse, selling products that are in fact out-of-stock.  It can also lead to products not making the all important pre-Christmas deadline. These problems can then lead to a post Christmas headache when customers need extra post sales support.  If retailers haven’t already made plans to avoid or work around the potential issues, they have left it too late and pretty desperate measures will be needed."