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PRESS RELEASE - Exeter, UK, 24 October 2007

Online Stores Countdown to Christmas

With only 75 shopping days left until Christmas, this year's Yuletide online sales are set for a massive 60% year on year increase with UK consumers expected to spend a record high of £17bn this festive season.

Taking into consideration a culmination of Northern Rock, cuts in base prices across all sectors and the general feeling that interests rates may need to increase - online stores will have to up the ante to compete in the build up to Christmas.

To ensure online stores get their share of festive sales how are they gearing up to be searched and found? With increasingly savvy online consumers, 74% are researching online before buying with 77% using the top 5 NATURAL search results, and 71% of people saying search engines are their most trusted source of information; no business can afford to ignore the search dynamic. (Source: Henley Centre / AOL).

It's now not just a case of getting to the top of lists - online brand reputation is of equal importance.

Receiving negative digital publicity by your customers on social networking sites, news forums, user groups and blogs simply because, say, your purchases didn't arrive on time, can have a damning effect on your Christmas sales and sink your company's reputation.

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