Warm weather in September and promotions by high street retailers slowed the growth of online sales to a record low of 1.4% in that month, says IMRG, the body that represents on line retailers. Online retailers are also braced for problems because of strike action by postal workers and six out of 10 say that shoppers have already called them to ask if deliveries would be affected.

However, experts are confident that the pressure will only be temporary and that on-line sales will start to rise again. Local retailers should keep tabs on what is going on in the e-commerce world and use this information to keep their local chamber of trade an politicians on their toes. It used to be said that retailers were poorly served by their politicians because you could not expert their jobs out of the local area. With the internet, that no longer holds true.

Around 65% of UK households have access to the internet and the Royal Mail (yes, it’s them) say that 62% of the population shop from home, with 11 million people buying something online twice a week. Big and growing: the second thing you should consider is selling something online yourself. Perhaps an item for your new year’s resolution list!