Yesterday I learned that the online economy in the UK is now worth £100 billion. This figure is the key outcome of a survey conducted by the Boston Consulting Group (commissioned by Google). The report shows that nearly 60 per cent of the UK online economy is driven by ‘consumption’, which consists of 2 different parts: consumer spending online (£50bn) and spending on Internet providers and devices to access the Internet (£10bn).
I guess the significance of the £100 billion figure is that it accounts for 7.2 per cent of the UK’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). With this percentage, the Internet economy has overtaken sectors such as construction, transport and utilities. The report states that this figure is likely to grow by 10 per cent each year, reaching 10 per cent of GDP by 2015.
The main things I took away from this survey and it findings:
- Internet in the UK is getting there – Although I’m slightly wary of the term “online economy”, the latest figures clearly show that the UK is heading in the right direction.
- There is still work to be done! Looking at the considerable gap with countries like Denmark and Japan, it seems that progress still needs to be made with respect to infrastructure (Internet across the UK) and getting everyone in the UK online.
Main learning point: the UK’s online economy seems to have grown considerably, mainly caused by a significant increase in online consumer spending. This figure is likely to grow substantially over the years to come, particularly as more (small) businesses start to fully embrace the Internet. However, there still seems scope for the British government to facilitate this growth by enabling infrastructure and stimulating Internet engagement.
Related links for further learning:
http://www.connectedkingdom.co.uk/the-report/
As I learn ... 