With current high street woes (see Thorntons, HMV and Habitat for examples) and lack of out-of-town opportunities, UK retailing is turning increasingly to the online channel. And with John Lewis Partnership and Marks and Spencer slugging it out to become the UK’s first £1bn e-tailer, Biz/ed’s recent blogs on stay-at-home shoppers are particularly apposite. Online grocery sales approached the £5bn mark last year. They are forecast to double again by 2015.

All the main players are involved, of course, but it’s the high-end of the market that comes in for the Biz/ed blogging treatment here. Starting off with putting online in perspective, we move on to a detailed look at the sometimes feisty relationship between Ocado and Waitrose, before finishing off with analysis of John Lewis’ international online strategy. As you’d expect there are links to detailed news stories, good sources of data, as well as Biz/ed’s unique take on the business world. A rich source of case study material for teachers and learners alike.