The year 2001 is due to start with untold tales of woe for the electronic world. Agreed, anyone saying in January 2000 that we would see a fall in internet use the following year would have been beaten down by the pundits faster than the click of a mouse. In reality, whilst the world went mad in 2000, even those sucked into the thick of it had a sneaking suspicion that it was too good to be true and would all end in tears. And so it has, or so we are now led to believe. But has it?

What does the future hold for those with their feet firmly entrenched under their PC desks whilst swingeing cuts are apparently made to any company ending in .com? Is the internet really going to suffer as much as the doom merchants are saying? Well, anyone who thinks that e-commerce is on its way out has clearly never bought anything from the comfort of their living room. I, for one, will never be seen browsing in PC World for the latest peripherals when jungle.com will have it first, possibly cheaper and deliver it to my door (whilst I track the delivery van on the PC). Why would I ever want to buy a greetings card inscribed with a stranger's caption when I can dream up my own and have it delivered to my door by thinkcards.com. In how many high street stores can you browse and hear the comments of others who have bought the product you are considering, or read a selection of industry reviews? Where else can you compare the prices of the competition without moving from your seat?

Inevitably there will be certain items that will never feature highly in the internet sales figures and will always require a high street presence. Would you buy a sofa without sitting on it, a pair of shoes without trying them on, or a carpet without seeing or feeling it? In these instances the internet merely becomes another ordering point for the store in question but nevertheless still shows the need for a presence.

We will also start to pay for services and more for products but then, they tended to be cheaper anyway so perhaps a reality check is in order. It is clear that there is massive consolidation yet to come and many more closures, yet there will be few people who will be surprised at who they are if 2000's high profile failures are anything to go by. Looking to the future we have to realise that there is a whole generation for whom the internet is not new, but a way of life. Those recognising the need for speed, simplicity, accuracy and usability will return to profitability and will prevail. The internet was due to come of age and so it shall.