Online retail market to double in value by 2011

by Hayley Pinkerfield, Revolution UK 13-Jun-07, 12:00

LONDON - The value of the online retail market is set to soar to £28 billion by 2011, to form 10.9% of all retail sales, new research claims. Verdict Research predicts that market value will leap from today’s £13.8 billion, reinforcing the case for retailers to be online.

Following this, Webloyalty has just announced a possible new revenue model for online retailers. Interflora has already signed up to its subscription-based loyalty model, which is a move away from traditional model of points-based rewards schemes.

The US-born online marketing firm offers customers shopper discounts and rewards, and cash back discounts on internet purchases. Working with e-retailers, Webloyalty rents space on their post-transaction pages, and link shoppers through to access to its offers from more than 400 retailers. Users who sign up receive insurance benefits and discounts.

Verdict Research’s report also states that online retailers could earn £818 million in extra income by 2011 by using a ‘post-transactional’ revenue model. Webloyalty’s MD Europe, Martin Child, began his career at Overture and Yahoo!

At today's eTail UK event, he told Revolution: “There is now a critical mass of shoppers online, and the opportunities for retailers to monetise on this are massive.”