At last, someone seems to be thinking of the consumer in the great online adventure. Since the inception of the mass-market Internet, the problem has been providing a service that attracts the public. The two key problems have been secure payment and delivery.

The first is being tackled, if not yet conclusively. This week saw the arrival of an initiative to address the second.

As usual, it was a simple idea that proved the best. The problem with delivery has always been ensuring that someone was in to receive the goods when they arrived. The answer: park the goods at a central but convenient point where people can pick them up at their leisure.

That is exactly what Spar and Collectpoint have now done, arranging for goods bought over the Net to be delivered to your local Spar, for collection at the customer's convenience. In return, Spar receives a small payment from the retailer and gets the chance of more business from the collecting customer.

For simplicity, it takes some beating.

dcoyle@irish-times.ie