Brilliant Thinking

The breakdown by constituency shows wide differences in the take-up of fast net services says Tim Johnson, founder of Point Topic. Areas with the highest proportion of households with broadband tend to be in dense, middle-class suburbs, he said, especially those where both cable and DSL is available.

Cardiff Central tops the list of most connected constituencies with almost 40% of homes having fast net access, finds net specialist Point Topic. Bottom of the league is Meirionnydd Nant Conwy where little more than 2% of homes are on broadband links. The researchers said the figures reveal the way that technology is accentuating differences between rich and poor.

The map highlights the level of broadband use in the parliamentary constituencies of England and Wales. Figures in brackets are the number of constituencies in the range.

So what has that got to do with design strategy?

It is very clear that there is a divide in accessibility between richer and poorer households, and, with the UK legislation on accessiblity, many SMEs need to take this into account when setting up a website. Current technologies like CSS allow web agencies to produce very lean websites that load quickly. This not only allows for more search engine friendly pages, but provides greater accessibility for visitors with slower connections.

The Emissary Take Away: “Know thy user” is key to delivering a successful solution. Once you understand or profile enough about the user, you can then start to think about the design, the functionality and how you’re going to most effectively deliver it to your audience.

British Chambers of Commerce

Mail order businesses are failing to cash in on the UK’s internet shopping boom, retail analysts claim.

Data from consumer research group Mintel shows web stores have overtaken mail order catalogues as the most popular form of home shopping for the first time ever. The report reveals 32% of shoppers bought goods online last year compared to 25% who purchased items from a catalogue. While the internet figure rose from just 9% in 2000, the number of catalogue shoppers fell dramatically from the 53% recorded during the same year.

Mintel claimed that despite being perfectly placed to exploit the popularity of e-commerce, traditional mail order firms are failing to make the leap.

“Home shopping retailers must admit that the days of the big book are over and that the great hope of the home shopping industry is, or should be, the internet,” said Mintel’s Richard Perks.

“The internet is still seen by many as an exciting, new and convenient way to shop, while catalogues are often seen as old fashioned and downmarket.”

Modern consumers are increasingly more sophisticated when shopping, he added, and demand personally targeted offers. High street stores providing ‘all things to all women’, for example, have struggled to tempt customers.

“There is a place for home shopping and it will grow its share in the longer term. But if the existing players do not respond quickly it will be new operators which will be the beneficiaries,” he said.

Related Article: Offline Shops are Missing Out