Advertising for ecommerce firms to face stricter regulation

Until the first of the month, online advertisers in the UK were not bound by the country's strict non-broadcast advertising code. However, the extension of the Committee of Advertising Practice's rules to online content will likely mean a boost for retailers who already follow ethical advertising practices, according to executive Pascal Fintoni, writing for NeBusiness.co.uk.

He asserts that content that misleads or harms consumers can be removed from the internet and the people responsible publicly identified.

Bad advertising hurts legitimate online retailers, according to Fintoni.

"Many people are still nervous about buying online as they either don't feel they can be 100 percent sure of what they're getting or they're nervous about entering payment deals," Fintoni writes.

However, the stricter guidelines for ethical advertising and the continuing improvements to the security and convenience of online payment gateways should work to counteract negative perceptions, according to other experts.

Additionally, the recent news that online retail sales jumped substantially during 2010's holiday season has provided further impetus to the notion that ecommerce is due for a renaissance in the UK.