Paul McGurran, Director of ecommerce at Magico.ie announced:

"Although traditional high-street retail activity is suffering a downturn, Internet sales in Ireland are likely to smash all previous records this year as more and more drop the high street for the super information highway."

"For example, according to Realex Payments online sales in Ireland reached EUR12.7m on December 4, 2007, last year, declining to EUR7.3m in subsequent days during the Christmas period. In 2008 average daily Web sales in Ireland are now exceeding EUR12m per day," he added.

Mr McGurran pointed to recent research in the UK showing that Internet sales will continue to grow and the web channel will claim more than half of the retail market pie by 2026.

"This increase in online retail activity is being stimulated by numerous factors including greater broadband penetration across Ireland, and time-poor and price conscious consumers. Furthermore, the rising price of fuel is the main reason behind consumers’ inclination towards web shopping, with users spending an average of 1.6 hours each week buying on the Internet," he added.