Web 2.0 will meet its End in 2008

Web 2.0, one of the major online trends of 2007, will meet its end in 2008 according to leading UK web testing company SciVisum, and rising online revenues will signal the demise of high street retailers. As part of its predictions for e-commerce in 2008, SciVisum cites the main drivers for Web 2.0’s decline as the exponential growth in the number of User Generated Content (UGC) websites facing a backlash from cautious advertisers not wanting their brand to appear in front of unsuitable content.

“2008 is set to be a watershed year for e-commerce. Consumers and companies will continue to adopt a nomadic attitude towards Web 2.0 websites flocking to the ‘next big thing’, until the market becomes so saturated consumers will actually be turned off them,” said Deri Jones, CEO, SciVisum. “But just as significantly, it will also be the year that high street revenues start to decline. Because of this, retailers will focus on eliminating the background problems that currently plague their websites and negatively impact sales. Those that don’t will die with the high street,” added Jones.

SciVisum has identified four key areas it says will revolutionise e-commerce operations in 2008.

HIGH STREET DYING
Each year we see significant increases in the amount of online spending. The latest Government figures show that online spending reached £130bn in 2006 (Office for National Statistics) – a growth of 29 per cent. This figure is forecast to rapidly increase to £162bn by 2020 (Uswitch). High street retailers that have good eCommerce platforms in place are thriving and are able to take advantage of the cultural shift in the way we shop. Those that haven’t will either make the change this year or disappear.

LOST ONLINE SALES RECOVERED
Online competitive pressure will intensify for all firms, regardless of industry. To continue to be profitable in this tougher environment, companies will be forced to review and tighten up their e-commerce operations to achieve maximum return on investment (ROI). In 2008 firms will focus more resources on eliminating the sporadic errors that impact a user-journey to ensure that marketing and advertising investment spent in attracting customers to the site is not wasted.

BUSINESS BACK IN CONTROL
2008 will see corporate personnel take ownership of their company’s e-commerce activities. SciVisum’s own research found that it is business and marketing personnel that are most aware when there is an issue with their website. However, business personnel have historically been fobbed off by the IT department’s use of irrelevant data and metrics that indicate the site is performing well from a metrics perspective. In 2008 we will see business people push back when this occurs, only accepting data that is relevant to the user experience.

NET NEUTRALITY DECLINES
Increased fears over global bandwidth shortages will enable Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to charge a significant tax for organisations that currently offer video download services for free. These charges will in turn be passed onto the user, based upon the amount of content they download, and will lead to the decline of net neutrality - the principle that data on the Internet is moved blindly and impartially, without regard to content, destination or source.

Associated Link: SciVisum

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