Tarifica report explores the jungle of ecommerce

There are four types of companies doing well in the online trading jungle, according to the latest research from Phillips Tarifica.

The company conducted a survey of Internet shopping companies in Europe and found the most successful players could be compared with members of the animal kingdom.

The start-ups, like Amazon.com, are compared to Lions - currently roaring ahead in online sales. Companies successfully managing to diversify to the new medium, such as Virgin, are the leopards. The giraffes are thriving companies which see the Internet as a natural extension of their business. And the terriers are small, aggressive niche companies that find the Internet breaks down the global and financial barriers which prevent growth in the real world.

Sheila Moorcroft, one of the report's authors, said another observation to come out of the research was that the Internet must shed its consumer-unfriendly image before it attracts the mass market. She added that new technologies such as the Web phone and Internet TV will help to change this image.