CUSTOMERS STILL BUY ONLINE DESPITE RECESSION

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) February 17, 2010 --

Whilst the recession may well be hitting offline companies hard, according to research recently conducted by eBay and Paypal, the future for online marketers is still looking positively rosy. In fact, the Paypal UK Online Retail Report which was produced by Experian last month showed that UK online spending is set to increase by up to £12.3 billion by the end of 2011. Even recession-hit Marks & Spencer, which many consider to have been slow to enter the online marketplace, has just reported 30 per cent growth in online sales for the quarter ended 26 September. For those who are keen to take advantage of this continuing upswing in Internet sales and the changes in shopping habits, but do not have a clue where to start, the new website at www.awebbusiness.co.uk could be just what they need to get them on the path to online marketing success.

The website, which introduces the Pathways step by step guide to building a successful web business, offers the opportunity for those with even only a basic knowledge of the Internet to either set up a new online business or take an offline business online and so move with the increasing trend towards online buying. As recent research indicates, online marketing does not just offer the opportunity to reach global markets, but during a time of recession when traditional marketing budgets are often one of the first things to be slashed, it also provides a cheap and cost-effective means of getting products and services into the public view.

As Julie Arnold, designer of the Pathways programme, found to her cost, the theory of setting up an online business is all very well, but when it comes down to the practicalities of registering the business, creating a website and driving traffic in the right direction, the information which is currently available leaves much to be desired. Whilst there is no disputing that it is all out there somewhere, pulling it together into a form which is useable, contains no gaps and actually gets a business off the ground can be both time-consuming and frustrating, and in the meantime potential online business owners are missing out on valuable sales.

As Marks & Spencer is perhaps just learning, 21st century shopping is something quite different than it used to be and online shopping trends are not looking set to decline any time soon. Learning quickly and easily how to jump on board the Internet phenomenon is more important now than it has ever been.

The website, awebbusiness.co.uk, and the Pathways programme have been developed to provide an affordable tool to enable ordinary individuals to set up an online business quickly and easily.