Market Overview
Billions of euro worth of products and services are traded online each year in Ireland. Online trading is growing rapidly and increases significantly each month, a trend reflected across all sectors and in businesses of all sizes.
Levels of online fraud have fallen considerably since the introduction of schemes such as 3D Secure (Verified by Visa and MasterCard SecureCode). These schemes guarantee payment for the majority of online payments whilst shifting liability from the merchant to the issuing bank.
At a time when the overall retail growth rate is starting to decline this shows a major trend towards buying and selling online. On the 3rd December 2007, a record €12.7 million in online sales was processed by Realex Payments, who estimate 80% of these transactions were to Irish consumers, proving that the Irish online market is a significant channel for businesses.
The figure for 2007 represents an increase of 51% over the same day in 2006, when online sales peaked at €8.4 million. In such a climate, the online market creates a great opportunity for those who are embarking on selling their products or services online for the first time.