UK retailers slammed for 'ecommerce apathy'

NEWS The UK's top retailers are failing to make the most of ecommerce, with over a third still to launch any kind of Web site, according to a report out today. The survey, by software consultancy, Quidnunc, looked at the Web sites of 20 leading retailers. Not one was judged to have an adequate ecommerce presence, while only four mentioned ecommerce in their latest annual reports. According to Quidnunc, the survey suggests a major problem may be the 'generation gap' at board level. Geoff Harbige, retail consultant at Cap Gemini, did not agree. "Just because people are over fifty doesn't mean they don't understand technology. According to the Today programme this morning, the most active Web surfers and shoppers are people in their fifties and sixties." Harbige also claimed the UK's fastest growing retailers are Matalan and New Look - both criticised in the report for not having Web sites. He added that retail recognises nine routes to market - and the Web is just one of them. He said UK retailers are making very effective use of technology using in-store kiosks, intranets for staff training and extranets to better manage supply chains. David Tyler, finance director at Great Universal Stores, said: "We are behind retailers in the US because the proportion of people actively using and shopping on the Web is lower here. This is changing, but ecommerce is still a tiny percentage of most people's business - as indeed it is in the US for traditional bricks-and-mortar retailers."