Problem: The shops look vaguely Russian at present, as though, instead of living through Christmas and the New Year, we had just survived a long and bloody siege. And yet . . . and yet . . . the urge to shop still lingers. Solution: Get to the nearest computer, and do a proper demolition job on your credit card. If it doesn't look like a Salvador Dali timepiece by February, you're not trying hard enough.
According to a report on Ireland Online, 1.9 million UK internet users have bought online in the past six months. In the US, the figure is a lot higher, and Wired magazine has estimated that the number of female internet users shopping online in the year 2000 will be six times the 1999 figure.
The US sites are the most efficient, having had something of a head-start. Many of them, however, only deliver within the US, so by all means tease yourself with a quick scoot around the Gap (www.gap.com) or the very lovely Neiman Marcus (www.neimanmarcus.com), but be prepared for disappointment. Most sites do update their services regularly, though, so don't write them off completely. Bookmark your favourite e-shop and check back periodically.
Hobo (www.hobocorp.ie) is one of the few Irish fashion companies that offer e-shopping. The site is pretty limited now, but, again, is worth book-marking and checking back on. It seems at present that the bulk of Irish e-commerce is concerned with children's toys, drink, books and music. But within the year, more and more businesses will have opened an online division. According to a Deloitte & Touche survey quoted in this paper's Computimes page last week, 47 per cent of Irish chief executives have an e-business strategy. Ireland Online has a small collection of online shops, including the House of Ireland (www.houseofireland.com), geared toward an American market. Any Irish business s contemplating a move into e-commerce should take a look at this site: it's well laid out, with a clean, simple style, and is easy to get around.
IOL also promotes Easons (www.eason.ie), DVD Express (www.dvdexpress.com), and DMG Direct (www.dmgdirect.com), a music site. Sadly, good as they are, they can't compete with the daddy of them all, Amazon. I tend to shop on the American site, .com, rather than .co.uk as I find it better than the UK site. It does mean waiting a little longer for your order to arrive, but you pay in dollars, not sterling, and its stocks are huge, so you've a greater chance of finding exactly what you want, however obscure.
Speaking of obscure, Yahoo shopping offers a service that shows you what's been bought in the last hour, in case you have no ideas of your own. I looked, in the interests of prurience, sorry research, and its most recent sellers had been Palm Pilot accessories, a religious music CD, hair loss formula, and two manicure sets. You know who you are, mate, and you're impressing no-one.
Recommended sites that deliver:
www.amazon.com - Books, music, films
www.liberty-of-london.com/shopping - pretty items for the house
www.wineonline.ie - self-explanatory
www.apc.fr - tres chic French clothes, male and female
