Revolution in store as online retail sales soar

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money.” Some retailers are expanding their presence online to attract custom.Baby goods retailer Mothercare, for example, runs the gurgle.com social networking site, while HMV has recently launched the getcloser.com as a forum to discuss music and film.

All of this requires investment, which is difficult when trading conditions are tough. But the rewards can be high.

Nick Greenspan, a partner specializing in retail at consultants Bain & Company, has calculated that twice as many UK retailers lose or gain market share in a slowdown than a stable growth period and of these, 75% of winners and losers in that period retain their position even four years later.

The signs are that many retailers are responding.

Electrical goods group DSG, for example, has put revamping its stores, improving customer service and expanding its online presence at the heart of its turnaround plan.

Capgemini’s Petevinos believes that, after music, books and electrical goods, clothes retailers could be the next to reach the “tipping point” of reassessing their strategy in light of the Internet.

Clothes sales, under pressure at store groups, were up 32% online in the first half of the year, with lingerie up 37% and footwear up 38%.

Companies like ASOS, whose sales leapt 95 percent in the 13 weeks to June 27, are throwing down the gauntlet to store groups such as Marks and Spencer and pioneering what could be the shopping experiences of the future — 360-degree viewing of shoes and virtual catwalks for clothes.