The survey of 500 companies and 500 consumers found that over half (56%) of companies consider the Internet has had a ‘substantial’ or ‘revolutionary’ impact on their industry.

Some 60% of consumers, meanwhile, say the Internet has given them more power and 43% believe that companies are becoming more accountable as a result of the new technology. Over 70% say they look at other consumers’ comments about products before making a purchase.

Half of businesses recognise that adapting to these changes in consumer behaviour is crucial to their future success, with most companies making their online presence more central to their overall business (75%) and more customer focused (61%), and 58% planning to increase their investment in online marketing.

However, over two-thirds (70%) said their company still had a lot to learn about how to reach customers online and only a quarter (23%) feel they make better use of the Internet than their competitors.

For more details on the survey click on the link below.

Click here to download CBI/Google Internet Survey