12 October 2006

The face of the high street could be set to change in future, due to the increased proliferation and popularity of e-commerce, according to a study by ACNielsen.

For many services and products, including holidays, mobile phones and loans, the Internet has become the major force for UK shoppers, a new survey reported in Reuters discovered.

Some 60 per cent of shoppers now prefer to use the Internet to find holidays, the market research company found.

However, Britons still prefer the face-to-face approach when looking for fashion items, and jewellery and watches.

Frank Martell, executive officer and president of ACNielsen, commented: "The high street of the near future may well be devoid of the traditional travel agent, mobile phone store and high street bank, reserved entirely for fashion, jewellery, watches and other retailers selling merchandise that consumers need to see, feel and try on before they buy."

Earlier this year, IT Backbones reported on research conducted by MutualPoints, which found that 97.5 per cent of UK residents had used the Internet to purchase an item.

© Adfero Ltd

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