Merry Christmas (subscriber_fullname),

Welcome to our Christmas newsletter. We're feeling very festive here at ORCA Towers and have been getting right into the Christmas Spirit(s) - in fact, we've almost run out of Babycham! Anyway, back to business. As the Internet continues to have a massive impact on all our lives, this edition is dedicated to Christmas shopping and the huge changes taking place in the way we buy our presents. So, grab yourself a mince pie, take 5, and read on.

Internet beats high street for Christmas shopping

This year Britons will spend more money buying presents online than they will on the high street in the run-up to Christmas.

Brits will spend 55% of their Christmas shopping budget on presents bought online. A new survey by Nielsen/Netratings has found on average, people will spend £237 online as opposed to £197 on the high street.

With a record-breaking Christmas for e-tailers on the cards, convenience and avoiding the crowds were cited as some of the main reasons for buying presents online.

To find out how we can help you make the internet work for your business click here.

How to... act at your office xmas party

Spend the early part of the evening impressing the bosses and clients. You can drink the party punch when they've gone.
Over the course of the night, try to resist the temptation of photocopying parts of your anatomy - if the copier breaks you'll be spending Christmas with glass in some very painfull places!!
Running aluminium foil through the paper shredder to make tinsel is discouraged.
And the office furniture is not designed to be as sturdy as those in your local pub, so dancing on the desks could do them and you a lot of damage. Likewise, the boardroom table is meant for weighty documents, not overweight executives.

Home shoppers favour Etail over catalogues

Eight out of ten home shoppers buy goods online after browsing catalogues, research by Eperian has shown. So-called 'flick-to-click' buying is most common among time-poor consumers.

Consumer confidence in Etail website security is on the rise, according to the latest figures from online retail body the IMRG (Internet Measurement Research Group). Online shoppers faith in web security has risen to 76%.

The IMRG predicts that full online sales for 2007 will be £53.3bn, up from £30.2bn a year ago.

Over 90% of Christmas shoppers will be purchasing presents online

Online retailers are set for a busy season as 92% of consumers will be carrying out at least some of their Christmas shopping online, according to research from online loyalty programme ipoints.co.uk.

Half of the UK's Christmas shopping is done online, accourding to a study for web analytics firm Coremetrics. It also revealed that 75% of British shoppers will have spent up to 15 hours shopping for Christmas gifts online, despite more than half (60%) being put off by the cost of delivery of online goods.

According to ecommerce industry body IMRG, UK consumers are forecast to spend a record £13.8bn online this Christmas (nma.co.uk 07.11.07).

Consumer confidence in the delivery of Christmas presents is high, with 84% claiming to be confident that the presents will arrive on time.

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Christmas Giggles

Q-What is the difference between the Christmas alphabet and the ordinary alphabet?

A-The Christmas alphabet has No L

It was Christmas and the judge was in a merry mood as ne asked the prisoner, "What are you charged with?"

"Doing my Christmas shopping early", replied the defendant.

"Thats no offence", said the judge. "How early were you doing this shopping?"

"Before the store opened."

Father: Did you see Father Christmas this year son?

Son: No it was too dark to see him, but i heard what he said when he stubbed his toes on the edge of my bed.


	Allcare Mobility on their ORCA website "At least two or three times a week we are contacted by sales teams offering their services and trying to sell us a new web site. Although our web site was old and out dated, I was reluctant to make an appointment to see anyone, as most of them seemed very pushy. So you can imagine my frustration when I returned to work one day to find that my shop manager had made me an appointment for someone to visit me regarding a new web site. Dean came to see me a few days later and advised me on how a new web site could help my business move forwards. After this consultation Dean thanked me for my time and left me to think about what I wanted to do. I contacted Orca about a week later and asked them to proceed with a new site. What impressed me greatly was the fact that I wasn't contacted by Orca in the time leading up to my decision… they gave me the time and respect to come to a decision in my own time and on my own terms.Now my new site is up and running for all to see and it’s exactly as I was advised it would be - and all at a very competitive rate." - Richard Lickley, Owner, Allcare Mobility View Site

Fun Fact

In Mexico, wearing red underwear on New Year's Eve is said to bring new love in the upcoming year! No wonder Superman was so popular then!


	Mulled Wine Recipe Ingredients: 1/2 bottle red wine 1 cinnamon stick 2 star anise 2 cloves 1 orange, sliced 1 lemon, sliced 50g brown sugar Method: 1. Place all of the ingredients into a saucepan and simmer for 6-8 minutes, without boiling. 2. To serve, pour the mulled wine into heatproof glasses. 3. Enjoy - but please drink responsibly