Now that buying online has become second nature to a growing percentage of UK shoppers, the inevitable question is just how far internet shopping will permeate into the retail landscape. Many of the High Street's major players are already using the web as an additional sales platform - not only as an extra customer service but also giving them a significant advantage over smaller competitors. The retail climate is tough enough for many small to mid-range businesses as it is, without having to compete on an uneven playing field.

We've started working with online retail consultants Transaction Partnership to advise businesses with turnovers of between £1million and £5million how they can compete - and the research we've completed shows the startling extent of the picture. In the North West alone, there are 400 mid-range retailers who are missing out on the increased sales which transacting online can bring - and collectively they are missing out on £40million a year in lost revenue. You can safely add a nought onto that figure to give you the national picture - and all because retailers have been unable to justify the cost or do not have the in-house expertise to set up an e-tail platform. As a starting point, most of these retailers should be capable of generating an extra 10 per cent of sales by moving into transacting online.

But innovation and technological advances mean that businesses who couldn't afford to start selling online just a year or so ago can find a solution which will help them compete. Cloud computing and next generation, energy efficient digital architecture means that there are new cost-effective ways to replicate and even improve on the services offered by traditional software providers. Set up and running costs can now be up to 50 per cent lower than traditional solutions - and some proactive universities now offer two-year subsidised secondments, providing you with the manpower to roll out your e-tail site.

Increasingly retailers need an on-line platform built around their specific needs, both current and future, but at an affordable cost. Across the country there are retailers, ranging from the very small upwards, who perceive the need for their business to be selling online but have not be able to resource this vital platform, particularly in the current economic climate. But this is just the time that such a move is vital to protect the future of many of these businesses by serving their customers better and defending themselves competitively.