by Nick Towers of Sagittarius Marketing, Folkestone

Despite the fact that the UK is in the grip of its worst recession since the 1950s, with the economy shrinking for the sixth successive quarter, one sector that's proving resilient to the impact of the slump is e-commerce.

E-commerce is well suited to weather the storm, for a number of reasons. The web has always been one of the best places to find a good deal - it's one of the main reasons people buy online - but during a recession, everyone's looking to make their budgets work harder.

Saving money is more important now than it was, say, 18 months ago. Shopping online has never been easier, it saves time, allows customers to do proper research and price comparisons and can be done day or night.

Shile e-commerce is not completely recession-proof, the underlying trend is still for customers to turn to the internet for the best value.

Although the growth in UK e-commerce sales slowed in 2008 as the recession tightened its grip, a number of studies predict that UK consumers will be doing more shopping and buying on the web this year. In fact, figures show that UK shoppers spent an estimated £3.8 billion online in August 2009, 16 per cent higher than the same month in 2008. In September, that figure was even higher, at an estimated £3.89 billion.

The internet is undoubtedly big business: recent research from IMRG, the leading industry body for global e-retailing, showed that online retail sales in the UK were worth £43.8 billion in 2008. With more and more businesses tapping into such a massive market, it's no surprise that online advertising spend now outstrips TV advertising.

That shows just how incredibly important to both business and consumers that the internet has become. Indeed, many clients have recognised the importance of developing an effective e-commerce strategy and that's definitely given them an advantage during the economic slowdown.

Jacksons Fencing, the Ashford-based manufacturer and retailer of fencing, gates and high security perimeter fencing, has worked with Sagittarius to develop a digital presence that sets the standard in its industry.

With a class-leading e-commerce website, Jacksons Fencing has dominated the search engines for five years and has been able to maximise its return on investment.

Thanks to a combination of strategic SEO (search engine optimisation), and PPC (pay-per-click) advertising, tactical email marketing and well-planned customer journeys, they have successfully tapped into the growing trend for people to 'improve not move'.

Folkestone-based online retailer Homemaker Bedding has also seen its business thrive. We have worked with them to open up new sales channels so that the company, which until last year was selling its products solely through eBay and Amazon, now has its own e-commerce website to maximise margins.

Despite being the fourth largest eBay store in the UK, Homemaker Bedding realised it needed to further strengthen its business and brand. Having its own e-commerce site has enabled the company to take more control of its business and brand and has added a reliable and solid sales channel.

However, it's not just enough to have an e-commerce site. The internet is always evolving so it's no good having a website that's dated, poorly designed and difficult to navigate. If customers aren't confident about using your site, you'll lose them and it will be very difficult to get them back.

Your e-commerce site is one of your main sales tools. It's a cost-effective way of doing business and the best and easiest place to improve sales.

Web users are far more savvy these days and they can easily shop around without moving from their seat.

Research and analysis experts eMarketer estimate that between 2009 and 2013, the number of online buyers will rise from 26.9 million to 31.8 million - more than half the UK population.

Figures like that can't be ignored. The online revolution is going from strength to strength as more and more companies use the internet . Those who ignore the power of e-commerce do so at their peril.

• Nick Towers is director of digital at Sagittarius Marketing. More information at www.sagittarius-digital.com