Consumer spending has changed dramatically since the advent of the internet; the major retailers of the World with premises on Fifth Avenue or Oxford Street have realised it is essential to have an informative website to support their retail activities. They are right.

The World has become one big marketplace. There is instant access to information on the internet and satellite television has supported the spread of commercial activity. A famous name goes with a famous brand and the images are seen on television and internet at the press of a button.

There are some issues with websites, not least their visibility on the internet where the countless numbers of websites compete for everyone’s attention. The main thing though is to embrace the concept of the internet and the ownership of a website; the next stage is the planning and design, the domain name and the marketing strategy.

There are internet marketing experts who can help with these things but the basic cost of a website as such is not prohibitive. There are even free websites but perhaps the best thing to do is to research the internet in subjects relating to the market sector you are in; see what the competition is doing and how it promotes itself.

That research may lead to a few changes in strategy but it may also throw up a range of questions that need some answers; those answers may well come from internet marketing people who can explain the intricacies of the internet, the best means of visibility for your site etc.

This is the stage at which costs may need to be considered. Cost benefit analysis dates back decades; the question is how much it is worth paying to get a visible website and what are the potential benefits. It is not an exact science by any means but if you embrace the idea of the website then these are some decisions you will need to make.

The High Street Christmas Sales are still an important part of retail strategy; they perform a social function in any event. The fact that the retail giants around the world use the vehicle of the internet when they have so much invested in property and have such a prominent location in the World’s most famous shopping streets suggests they know the power of the internet. Join up today.