Internet Shopping has finally exceeded the £100bn mark and it may come as a surprise that this industry started with the sale of a book by one of the UK’s most established retailers – WH Smith. They opened their website doors just over 12 years ago and have since seen an unprecedented amount of business come their way.

Analyst’s Verdict Research anticipates that these levels of internet sales will continue, possibly trebling over the next five years. Only in April of this year did we see record sales of £3.47bn, doubling the previous years levels. Many experts are suggesting that by 2011 we should see an online spend of £28bn.

So, why the sudden increase or ‘Internet Boom’?

When broadband initially launched only 2 million homes took advantage of the offers available to them. Since then we have seen a massive increase in broadband providers offering various different levels of packages, this has led to over 14 million of us connecting and taking advantage of what’s on offer.

Retailers have also seen the demand grow and just in the last year we have seen Top Shop, Ikea and other well known brands embracing the market to its fullest potential.

One of the biggest threats to this industry is that of internet scams and online security. One that is gathering the fastest pace is that of ‘phishing’; where customers are tricked into entering their personal and financial details into an identical or near-identical version of their much loved and trusted websites.

With the need for more awareness and security when completing transactions online, it’s obvious that customers aren’t being put off and are continuing to search out that next bargain or buy that limited edition present.