Stansted has come fourth in a UK award to succesful e-commerce towns. This is a great boost in the month that Stansted’s own business forum was launched. I am expecting to be interviewed on BBC Essex tomorrow morning (this was pulled). The following press release went out this morning from the organizers of the award scheme.

Stansted crowned a leading UK e-commerce town

Stansted scoops eTown Award as the UK’s fourth most internet friendly town

Stansted has been crowned one of the UK’s top eTowns in e-commerce, Google announced today. The Google eTown Awards are designed to recognise those towns whose businesses are most actively embracing the web, and at a time when the internet is spurring economic growth Stansted has won fourth place.

The award builds on the success of Stansted’s small businesses. Tech savvy business owners in the area are taking advantage of the close proximity to London’s third busiest airport, with companies providing accommodation, food and leisure services leading the way in using the internet to attract travellers and airport employees.

According to the Boston Consulting Group, companies with an online presence grow at least four to eight times faster than those companies without. In Stansted one local beauty salon, Style Me Beautiful, saw interest from potential customers double after they began using the internet to market themselves.

To provide a snapshot of this vital economic activity, Google worked with Ipsos MORI to break the UK into its 12 regions and analysed the online strength of local businesses across 1,300 towns. Those towns with the highest scores in each region were awarded eTown status.

Liz Willetts started Style Me Beautiful in 2011 and provides personal styling and beauty therapy from her studio in Stansted. As well as classic beauty treatments the business provides image consultancy and advice for people on how to make the most of their style. The website is a vital part of how the business attracts customers.

Style Me Beautiful owner, Liz Willetts, said:

“I started Style Me Beautiful after working in financial recruitment in London. The internet has been really important for the way my business has grown. I blog and use social media, but for me, online advertising through AdWords has been most effective. I’ve seen interest in the business double since I started advertising online.”

Sir Alan Haselhurst, MP for Stansted, said:

“I am sure that Stansted is proud of its Google eTown award and I am delighted to represent a community that has truly embraced the internet to help their local businesses to flourish.  The internet is going to play a key role in Stansted’s economic growth, helping local businesses and entrepreneurs thrive, and contributing overall to the wider British economy.  I hope this award encourages other local businesses as superfast broadband becomes increasingly available to use the internet to grow.”

Councillor Alan Dean, member of Uttlesford Council for Stansted, said:

“Businesses in Stansted are working together through a new, local forum to up their game and benefit from both the airport on their doorstep and from e-commerce. We recognise that good communications are the key to business success. An award like this is a welcome stimulus that will set our broadband buzzing.”

The Connected Kingdom report published by the Boston Consulting Group predicted that the internet’s contribution to GDP will increase from 7.2% today to 10% in 2015 meaning those businesses with an online presence will benefit most and contribute more to future UK economic growth.

Dan Cobley, Managing Director at Google UK, said:

“The internet is going to contribute massively towards our future economic growth, and many businesses rely on the web to grow. These eTown awards are designed to recognise and reward those areas leading the way forward in e-commerce, and Stansted should be extremely proud to be one of the UK’s top e-commerce towns.”

The top 12 Google eTown award winners in the UK are:

1. Stratford upon Avon, West Midlands

2. Edinburgh, Scotland

3. Richmond, London

4. Stansted, East of England

5. Towcester, East Midlands

6. Bournemouth, South West

7. East Marlow, South East

8. Blackpool, North West

9. Harrogate, Yorkshire & Humberside

10. Blaydon-on-Tyne, North East

11. Newtown, Wales

12. Belfast, Northern Ireland

Notes to Editors

1. Working with Ipsos MORI, Google created the eTown award list by breaking the UK down into all its towns. Google then worked out how many Google AdWords (online advertising) customers there were in each town and using population data created a list of towns and their AdWords penetration levels. A shortlist of the top 5 AdWords penetration towns from each of the UKs 12 regions were then sent to Ipsos MORI for further analysis. Ipsos MORI identified a random and representative sample of 51 small and medium sized businesses from each of the shortlist towns and allocated scores for whether those businesses were listed in an online directory, had their own website, had a social network presence, allowed ecommerce on their website, had a blog and had a mobile-friendly website. Those towns with the highest scores in each region were awarded eTown status. A full description of the Ipsos MORI methodology can be found at http://www.ipsos-mori.com/etownsresearch.

2. This is the second time Google has presented these Google eTown awards. The first awards were presented in November 2011.

3. AdWords is Google’s online advertising system which enables businesses of all sizes to advertise relevant text ads next to Google search results. Businesses decide the text and the cost and then only get charged when someone clicks on their ad.

About Ipsos MORI

Managed and run by research professionals, Ipsos MORI focuses solely on helping clients in business and government understand how people think and behave. One of the largest research organisations in the UK, and present in 84 other countries globally, with 16,000 staff, it focuses on six areas.  These are measurement of advertising effectiveness, marketing and innovation, media and technology, opinion and social research, customer loyalty, and data collection and analytics to give Ipsos MORI a key competitive edge, with dedicated teams able to create a unique link with their clients to let them better understand their publics and their markets in a transforming world.

www.ipsos-mori.com

End of press notice