London, UK (RushPRnews)12/26/08— The run up to Christmas, 2008 has seen e-commerce become the focus for retailers across the UK.In the light of rising costs and consumers reigning in their spending to save money, the Internet is now seen as the place of choice for consumers, for comparisons and significant savings. Internet marketing for e-commerce sites has become the chosen method of promoting retail businesses.

“With Internet marketing and digital advertising budgets increasing, traditional advertising is being replaced by cost-effective, targeted, digital advertising and marketing campaigns”, states Joel Leyden, President of London SEO Marketing.

Leyden, who has provided commercial, non-profit and governmental organizations with professional Internet marketing, PR and SEO services since 1995, states that traditionally, where retailers would have used print and broadcast advertising, they are now using SEO – search engine optimisation and Internet marketing to generate sales, as well as to maintain a branding presence in the market.

The credit crunch recession has seen closures of retail outlets, both in London and across the United Kingdom, leading to an increase in Internet sales with the Internet being viewed as the buyer’s market.

The UK’s Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported that between May and June 2008, retail sales volumes fell by 3.9%, the largest monthly drop since records began in 1986.

Yet online sales have been strong. In fact, Internet sales may be rising more rapidly than anticipated because hard-pressed consumers are determined to find value for money. Also, the rocketing cost of fuel means many shoppers are cutting visits to brick-and-mortar stores and turning to the Web instead.

Major online retailers are realising that to maintain a presence in the market, they need to offer true multichannel shopping and delivery/return options, as well as value for money. This strategy ensures they will gain and keep their market share in the future. The businesses that are not moving towards Internet marketing, and digital advertising, for whom traditional print or broadcast advertising is now too expensive, are likely to stagnate or go out of business.

Retail market leaders will spend more than in 2009 on digital advertising, Internet marketing and Internet public relations to ensure they attract and keep consumers’ attention. Consumers who want to save money are shaping the way the online retail market is developing.

Food, clothing, appliances and housewares have joined music, CDs, DVDs, books and tickets on the list of most-popular online buys. eMarketer estimates that UK business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce sales (including digital downloads and tickets for travel and events) will reach £59.8 billion in 2008, up from £46.6 billion in 2007, a 28% increase. Internet marketing, digital advertising and SEO, while not recession and credit crunch proof, remains recession-resistant and is forecast, for 2009 to continue to rise to £68.4 billion.

Much of the success of e-commerce sites also lies with the creation of trusted brands, with the consumer needing to feel safe when submitting data to an online organisation. A Universal McCann study in 2008 found that only 14 percent of users trust advertising, whereas 78 percent trust recommendations of other consumers. This highlights something many Internet marketers and digital advertising companies have known for a while: user generated content can be very beneficial. Consumers trust the recommendation of other consumers.

This is where SEO Internet marketing and digital advertising companies can help their clients. Blogs, viral marketing and Internet PR, can all provide brand trust by encouraging publication of feedback from the consumers who purchase the products or services and are happy to recommend them.

According to Bigmouthmedia, 79 percent of the top 100 PR Agencies in the United Kingdom do not offer online PR and Internet marketing services. Leyden Communications Group continue to maximise the opportunity for their clients to gain maximum Internet exposure to the army of online buyers choosing to shop online from the comfort of their living rooms.

“In a market where the phrases of the day are ‘recession’ and ‘credit crunch’ London SEO Marketing continues to help generate increased client visibility with Internet PR, viral marketing and SEO campaigns, creating unprecedented sales opportunities for their clients,” says Monique Lester, Managing Director of London SEO Marketing.

“With trends illustrating major cutbacks in conventional advertising for 2008, for Internet marketing and digital advertising, the best is yet to come.”