I noticed that research company Forrester reported this week that, whilst the wheels are falling off the high street, online retailing is set to buck the downwards trend.

As consumer confidence is increasingly battered by the tempest of recession, redundancies and beloved brands vanishing from the high street it is perhaps hardly surprising that shoppers are becoming more and more price sensitive, and will increasingly turn to the internet to price check and transact.

With a staggering ‘over 50%’ of the UK population still not shopping online there is still a real opportunity for manufacturers and retailers to turn the downturn into an opportunity and to maximise online sales, but there are real challenges along the way.

1) There is major uncertainty. This will be the first recession in which online retail will play a wide and significant role

2) Few segmentation models and consumer insights adequately understand how different segments are going to respond

3) More high street names are going to topple. Some manufacturers are going to see key partners vanish

So, challenging but exciting times. I am certain that increasing price sensitivity will push not only greater numbers of consumers, but a higher share of people’s spend, through online channels. What will be fascinating to see will be how the late majority and the laggard consumers embrace online retail, and how the online space evolves to accommodate and exploit their needs.

In particular, many brands may now get the opportunity to engage with existing loyalist consumers in a new environment, providing not just a helping-hand in the downtimes but also the possibility to build even stronger relationships with them.